


A Different Beginning

by HermesSerpent



Category: Sonic X, Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Friendship, Not shipping - Freeform, What-If, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-20
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2020-10-24 11:30:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 24,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20705270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HermesSerpent/pseuds/HermesSerpent
Summary: What if instead of Eggman waking Shadow from his long slumber, it was Tails? Watch out as a certain dark hedgehog learns to deal with the world and his own emotions.These are prolly really ooc representations. This idea came to me while rewatching Sonic x and started out short and cracky, but then I went and made it serious. Oopsie.





	1. Chapter 1

Perusing the government's secret files had become a bad habit of Tails’, having started out when he first came to this foreign world. At first, he had used it to figure out exactly where Creme and Cheese were being held. Then it became something to do while being stuck inside the house, with the added benefit of keeping tabs on whether or not a chaos emerald had been found without contacting the media. While the latter fact is still true, he could probably do without hacking into the files so frequently. This only increased the likelihood of getting caught and getting into trouble, which would mess with the already tenuous relations between the Mobians and the government.   
Tails shifts slightly in his chair feeling slightly guilty for snooping so far into his allies systems. But, the late-night anxieties about never returning home had struck him hard, preventing his sleep. The fox glances at the clock, self-conscious of just how late his latest bout of worries was driving him to stay awake. The clock mocks him, declaring it to three in the morning, far too late in the evening to stay awake. Yet, no yawn overcomes him, and there is an absence of weariness in his eyes. So he turns back to the computer, ready to continue carefully down this weaving rabbit hole.   
As he dives deeper into the depths of the government's secrets, he finds a name almost familiar to him. Tails had only heard it spoken a few times in relation to their greatest enemy: Robotnik. The file that lays beneath the name is locked with a password. He starts immediately gathering any information that he can on this man that appeared to share last names with Doctor Eggman. His search led him to discover about the man's daughter, Maria, and that there had been some sort of accident on something called the Space Colony ARK. Figuring a close relation would be as good as any other guess, the fox returns to the file, typing in the name. It unlocks and his eyes widen in alarm as information starts to violently stream down his screen. There was so much there, but what caught the eye of the fox was a note about a life form being kept on Prison Island, sealed away from the whole world. Navigating to that section of the file to learn more, Tails finds that some creature that seemed to be much like a Mobian was imprisoned. But, it was referred to as the ultimate weapon. Tails’ ears bend back, unhappy at the thought of anyone being locked away for so long. Quickly, he jots down some notes about the location of this creature and a brief idea of how he plans on getting them out.   
The buzz that came with such a discovery abandoned him soon after, leaving him with a bone aching weariness. Tails slips out of the government system leaving no traces of him having ever been there. He goes back to his bed, sliding easily into a dreamless sleep. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------  
Tails tells no one of his discoveries and makes preparations for the mission on his own. If he was caught alone breaking in, the others would likely not be dragged into trouble with the government, especially if they could truthfully claim that they had no idea he was planning this. So he kept quiet, making a small ship that could slip through the water undetected powered by a chaos emerald. He only made it big enough for two and made plans to carry the emerald with him through the base in a small bag in case he needed to use its power to overload the systems. A few days post his discovery, the fox finds himself ready to venture out.  
He leaves before the dawn, making sure to leave a note about investigating the city alone on foot. Tails feels his nerves biting at his stomach as he drives through the water to one of the best-guarded facilities on this planet. But he had his plan and he would not fail the creature that had been kept there for so long.

\--------------------------------------------------------  
Grabbing his satchel to carry the chaos emerald, Tails takes one last look at his submarine-like vessel. He breathes deeply, securing the hood of his robe over his head and rechecks the bonds on his tails. These items, along with a dark bandana to cover his muzzle were just-in-case his loops on the cameras within the facility failed. His fur and double tails would be a dead give away to who he was and could come back to bite him. With his resolve stiffened, Tails begins his ascent up the cliff using a rope he had thrown to the top.   
Passing through the woods undetected had been a simple task, allowing him to reach a control panel that lay on the outside of the building. Tails quickly uses this panel to hack in and start to loop the security feed and to turn off traps located in the areas he planned to pass through. Then, with his knowledge of the building that he had gotten through blueprints stored in the government’s files, he scales the side of the building to an air duct opening. Quietly he hopes that the creature he is helping to escape can fit within the ducts. A problem for later, he thinks pushing aside the worry. Tails begins slips quietly through the facility, passing unnoticed.   
The journey is uneventful and Tails stands before the panel in the room that held the being. He taps out the same password that had been the key to the file, slipping the chaos emerald then backs up as fog fills the room. When he spots a figure amongst the fog he backs up worried.   
“Sonic? What?”  
But as the figure comes to stand directly before him, Tails realises his mistake. While the outline had been similar, the details were greatly different. This was a black hedgehog with red markings where Sonic was blue. The fox felt his tails twitching against their bonds as they responded to the nervousness that once again was growing in his stomach.   
“ My name is Shadow. You’ve awakened me from a state of suspended animation and I am very grateful. To show my gratitude, I am at your command."  
Tails shifts back and forth.  
"No, I err. You don't need to be at my command. Noone should stay locked away like this."  
The fox speaks with a voice full of anxiety. He grabs the chaos emerald from the panel. Then an alarm begins to blare loudly. The black hedgehog glances around with narrowed eyes, falling into a fighting stance.  
"Come on, let's go. We gotta get out before they catch sight of either of us."   
With that he hopped back into the air duct. The sound of metal being hit informs him that the mysterious hedgehog is following. He quickly crawls ahead wanting to get off this island as soon as possible. Tails is somewhat unnerved by the lack of questions from the stranger. He knows if it had been him who was freed he would have a million and one things to ask.   
They reach the roof and quickly move down the side of the building. Tails' ears twitch noting increased robotic activity in the woods. It was going to be much harder to return to the boat.   
"I've got a ship that way, just below the cliff face, but I'm not sure how we're going to make it through without being caught. Sorry, guess I didn't plan well enough."  
Tails lets out a small self deprecating laugh.The black hedgehog glances at him and then back out at the woods. With no warning, the fox is scooped up and the hedgehog begins darting through the trees. Tails lets out a yelp clutching his satchel to his chest as the world whirls past.   
'This guy's as fast as Sonic!'  
They reach the cliff face and the stranger puts him down. Tails then moves over to the rope he had set up and slides down into the ship. A quick glance up reveals that the hedgehog is close behind. The fox places the emerald back into its place within the ship and submerges as soon as the stranger is in the second seat.   
What he had not accounted for was underwater defenses. The tiny sub, while highly maneuverable, was slow comparative to the other underwater craft that were surging after them. Tails realized this could very quickly end in destruction as he spins around yet another missile.  
"Let me show you my power. Hand me the emerald."  
The voice of the stranger behind him gives the fox pause.Tails is unsure, but the prisons underwater defenses are coming pretty close to blowing them up.  
"Okay."  
He pulls out the chaos emerald, handing it over with a nagging worry that whatever the hedgehog chose to do would not be enough. Then he hears the stranger speak and a blinding flash whites out his vision. He blinks rapidly, only to find that his sub, along with its two occupants had been transported to a new location. From the sheer amount of metal, Tails assumes they are now within another ship.   
"Wow!! That was amazing!"  
The fox turns to the stranger, gushing. The black hedgehog gives a small smirk and hands back the chaos emerald. Tails accepts it back and tucks it into his satchel. Deciding that the sub is getting stuffy, Tails pops open the top. He hops out of his small craft, soon followed by the dark hedgehog. Now that the danger appears to have passed, Tails begins dismantling his disguise. He removes the robe and the binding on his tails, then he pushes down the bandana that had covered his face. The pilot turns back to the creature and grins.   
"Hey! My name is Tails."  
The other being seems to take a moment to stare at the now undisguised fox. Then he slowly responds.  
"I am Shadow. I hope I have proven myself powerful enough to serve you."  
"Nice to meet you! You don't need to prove anything or serve me Shadow. By the way, where are we?"  
"We are on the Space Colony ARK."  
Tails' eyes light up, his tails twitching violently.  
"You mean we are in space!"  
Shadow merely indicates a window that lies behind him, and watches as the young fox dashes over to it. The world lays in all its glory just beyond causing the pilot to make a noise of awe.  
"It's so beautiful."  
"Shame that it is filled with such scum."  
The fox jerks back from the window, looking over at the black hedgehog who now stands beside him.   
"Why would you say such a thing? There are many nice people on that planet who had nothing to do with your imprisonment."  
Shadow's eyes do not leave the globe that lays below, anger lighting them up.  
“I don't care what they did to me. They took Maria! That planets fowl governments came here and took her away.”  
Tails stiffens at the growling, watching Shadow carefully. He did not know this hedgehog. At any moment the angry being could choose to turn and attack him. But Tails wanted to try and calm the fire that he sees rising.   
“Shadow, I have no idea what happened here. And I know for a fact that very few, if anyone on the planet below are aware of what happened, much less had a say in causing it. It’s been fifty years.”  
Shadow bares his teeth, seemingly unwilling to let go of his rage. Tails decides to push onwards. 

“I know what it's like to be alone. And I know how valuable the person who breaks the loneliness can be. I don't know what Id do if anyone ever permanently removed Sonic from my life. I'm not asking you to drop your anger towards those who took Maria. I'm just asking that you not hold the entirety of the world accountable. I didn't know her, but I don't think she would want that from you…”  
Shadow glances at Tails who tries his best to look reassuring. The hedgehog shifts, softening his tension a bit but still seems stiff. Tails gets the distinct impression that the other his deep in thought, considering his words.   
“I'm going to let you think this through. Come find me if you want to talk more Shadow.”  
Tails gives a small smile and then walks away, giving the hedgehog space to work through his thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

Tails found a main computer for the ARK and starts going through it. He finds that the ARK had a large weapon and with a bit of clever coding, he makes it so that it can never be activated. He also found, buried deep within the system, a subroutine that could be activated with all of the chaos emeralds. When activated it would set the entirety of the ARK on a collision course with the planet below. Tails cleans out this subroutine, ensure that this could never happen. He then snoops in the less secure areas, finding out were some deep frozen food was being stored. The fox removes himself from the computer and heads to the food area. This is where Shadow finds him, the fox struggling with the packaging. Tails gives him a grin as the slightly larger creature enters the room.  
“Hey Shadow.”   
The other grunts in reply and removes the package from the fox's hands, easily opening it.   
“Thanks!”  
Shadows merely tilts his head in reply. Tails dumps the contents of the package onto a plate and then sticks it within a device that was supposed to both heat and put water back into the food. A few moments of silence passed between the two as the device whirred. Tails’ ears twitch at the building tension in the room. The device beeps and the fox quickly grabs the food and divides between two plates. Passing one to Shadow he then busies himself with trying to find silverware. Suddenly he finds a fork beneath his muzzle, held there by the dark hedgehog. He accepts the utensil and plops himself back at the table, digging into the odd tasting space food.   
\------  
This whole situation with the fox is not what Shadow had been expecting. He had assumed whoever awoke him would want him at their command. But Tails had immediately shot the idea and then repeated the sediment even after he showed how useful he could be. It had hurt to see the excitement that the view of the planet had brought Maria on another's face. It had also hurt to be forced to face the idea that he should not hold the whole world responsible for the loss of Maria. He had taken the time to try to sort the emotions within himself when the fox had left him alone. Now he was just left with a jumbled mess inside of himself and he no longer wished to be alone in his memories and thoughts. So he sought out the small fox, who looked all the tinier without the robe.   
He found the smaller being in the kitchen struggling with a package. This brings a small smile to the hedgehog's face as he is reminded of Maria who had often struggled with these things. Shadow, in a well practiced motion, takes the package, opens it and returns it. He quietly waits as the fox heats the food. Noting the fox’s uncertainty, Shadow tries not to appear as intimidating by dropping his crossed arms, but this seems to have no effect. Unexpectedly, Tails divides the food between two plates and passes one to him. Rising, the fox apparently seems to be looking for silverware. Shadow quickly provides him with some.  
“I have considered what you said.”  
Tails’ ears perk up and he looks to the hedgehog in the room. Shadow does not look at the smaller being, but to the wall. He gathers his thoughts carefully.   
“I concede to your point that the whole of the planet cannot have been responsible for what happened. But I'm not sure if I can harbor any goodwill towards humanity.”  
The fox tilts his head, and replies.  
“Perhaps you could try giving the Earth a chance. From what I can tell, your only interactions with humans have been with Maria and with those who took her away. That's not a very wide pool of experiences to pull from. Perhaps, if you went to the Earth and had the chance to see the good of the people there. My friend Sonic often travels around to see the diverse locations available on the surface.”  
The young fox sounds hopeful and Shadow considers this. Maria had always wanted to see the world below. He had wanted to share his discovery of the planet with her. But that was no longer an option. It left him hollow to think of making the discoveries alone. He speaks without thinking, unable to halt the words, despite them coming out as steady.   
“Would you travel with me?”  
The fox freezes at this, apparently not having thought of this option.   
“You'd want me to come with you? I..I'd have to go home at some point… But it could be fun. Yeah, it'll be fun! I'll travel with you and help you see all the good that the planet has to offer!”  
The fox grows more confident as he speaks, grining at the end. Shadow nods and then begins to eat. Tails follows suite.   
Maria had asked him to protect the world with her last words to him. And while he did not feel up to the task, he could start small. He would protect this fox. Hopefully, he could come to see what Tails saw in the world so that he could defend it as Maria had asked.

\---------

Soon after the two finish eating and clean up, Shadow stands before Tails, hand out. Realizing what the hedgehog wanted, Tails hands the chaos emerald over. Shadow grabs his arm and then uses chaos control. The flare of light has Tails blinking rapidly. Shadow thrusts the emerald back into his hands, and the fox tucks it away in his bag.   
“So what do you want to do first?”  
Shadow seems surprised to be making the choice. He glances around in vague interest at the forest they had appeared within. The hedgehog appears wary to give his answer.   
“On the ARK I could never just run.”  
As someone who had been friends with Sonic for a long time, Tails knew the significance of such a statement. It spoke of a desire to be free and not bound by the environment.   
“Would you like to run on your own? I can wait here so you don't have to slow down for me and you could return whenever you feel.”  
Shadow pauses, considering the options.   
“I asked for you to travel with me. Not to act as a home base.”  
The response almost feels like a rebuke of the fox, but Tails feels that there is an undercurrent of uncertainty to it.  
“Awesome. I'll stick to you like glue.”  
Tails grins while Shadow raises an eyebrow. The fox catches a glint of something in the other’s eye and then finds himself being held, similar to earlier. It reminded him of the many times Sonic had snatched him up and hurried him away from danger.  
“You can't slow me down now.”  
Shadow refers back to the fox’s earlier comment in a way that almost felt like the larger being was trying to reassure Tails. The pilot just snorts, which turns into a gasp as the hedgehog starts moving. While he had felt this speed with Sonic, this seemed to hold something new. Like riding along with an eagle as it truly flew for the first time. Shadow’s running is far smoother than Sonic’s, more akin to a glide than a sprint. And he kept gaining speed. The world whipped past and Shadow smoothly evaded every obstacle. All at once, the two found themselves sailing through the air as the black hedgehog had leaped from the peak of a mountain. The feeling of falling hit Tails’ stomach all at once and he began to laugh. Shadow stuck his landing perfectly, starting to move once again and gain speed. Tails continues to laugh freely, throwing in a few whoops at the exhilarating experience. Shadow has a small smirk forming on his face and seems driven to move evening faster with increasingly hairpin turns to avoid hitting anything.   
They burst through a rainstorm, water hitting both harshly as the speed turns the tiny droplets into their own spikes of pain. Tails curls into Shadow, hiding his face from the onslaught. It ends almost as suddenly as it had started as Shadow outruns the storm. Tails peaks back out, shivering as his wet fur is chilled by the wind Shadow’s speed is producing. But that passses as the hedgehog contiues to run. Tails wonders how much longer the other would want to go, or in fact how much longer the other could push on. Shadow’s pace had not flagged and shows no signs of weariness. His breaths are still steady, not turning ragged as he flies across the land. Tails looks to the face of the hedgehog who as the slightest of true smiles on his muzzle.   
Hours must have passed before Shadow finally slowed to a stop. He places the fox down who stumbles a bit when he returns weight to his feet. While he had been carried by Sonic before, it had never been for such an extended period of time.   
“That was impressive! And you're not even winded!”  
Shadow tilts his head slightly. They now are in some mountainous region, a place full of caves and woodland. Tails noted a few houses a little way down the mountain. He starts walking towards them, only for Shadow to stop him.  
"I'm just going to ask to use their phone to let my friends know that I'm okay and won't be back in a while."  
Shadow narrows his eyes but allows Tails to continue onwards. He watches attentively as the fox knocks on the door of the first house, body resting in a battle-ready stance. Tails nervously wrings his hands as he waits for someone to answer. An elderly woman opens the door, looking around at her eye level. Tails coughs to get her to look down. She does so and smiles at the two.  
“Hello, dearies.”  
“Hello ma’am. Would you mind if I use your phone? I need to contact my friends to let them know that we’re ok.”  
““Come in, come in. Of course, you can use my phone. Did you two get lost in the woods?”  
Tails’ ears twitch back nervously, and Shadow tenses further at this display of discomfort.   
“Yes, ma’am. I'm not really sure where we are?”  
The woman ushers them into her home.  
“The phones in the kitchen. Ooh, you poor dears. Yall must be hungry if you've been wandering in the woods. You can call me Mrs. Alice.”  
“My name is Tails. This is Shadow.”  
The elderly woman led them through her house into the kitchen. She indicates the landline hanging on the wall. Tails quickly moves over to it as the woman indicates chairs at the kitchen counter for Shadow to sit in. The black hedgehog sits, watching the woman move about the kitchen to gather supplies of food she had already made. His ears tilt towards Tails who has finished typing in a phone number.   
“Hey, Ella. No. No! I'm fine. I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to be traveling for a bit longer than I had expected. No. I'm not sure when I'll be back. Im not mad! I just want to do some traveling like Sonic. I'll be back. I promise. Tell everyone I said hi.”  
Tails hung up the phone, ears tilting backward and tails drooping. He takes a seat next to Shadow, rubbing his eyes and covering a yawn. The woman places food before the two, sitting opposite of them. She smiled kindly.  
“So you’reTails. That name seems familiar. Do you have a plane called the X hurricane?”  
“Yes, Mrs. Alice. But it’s called the X Tornado.”  
“Ah yes. Sorry. My grandson loves that plane. Watching transform on the news has inspired him to study harder so that he could go into mechanics.”  
Tails grins at this information and listens as the older woman begins to happily talk about her grandson who was doing so much better in math. Shadow and Tails both eat the food provided. When they had finished, the woman offers them more with a smile . Both accept the second portion. While they continue to eat, the woman begins moving around her kitchen placing things into a smaller backpack. She continues chatting, with Tails occasionally asking questions about the rest of her family. It seemed like she did not get visitors too often. When the two finish this time, they decline the offer of more food.   
“We should be on our way. Thank you for being so kind.”  
“Aw. I should be thanking you, listening to an old woman natter on. I do have one request if it's not too much trouble.”  
Shadow tenses, eyes wary on this woman.  
“Sure.”  
“May I take your photo to show my grandson that you were here?”  
Tails eyes light up and he grins.  
“Yes. Thanks for asking first. The media always just takes pictures without permission.”  
“Oh, you poor dear.”  
The woman hurries to her living room, grabbing a polaroid camera. She reenters the kitchen smiling.   
“Do you want to be in the picture dear?”  
The woman speaks to Shadow who just shakes his head. Alice smiles, not taking offense and then turns to Tails who grins. She snaps two photos and then hands the fox the book bag.   
“Here. There's some food in here in case you get hungry while traveling. Don't worry about the bag, I own way too many for one person to use.”  
Tails accepts the gift with a large grin and multiple thank you’s. The two walk out of the house with Tails saying goodbye. Shadow gently takes the bookbag and puts it on. Then he lifts up Tails and starts running, slightly slower than before, taking them deeper into the mountains. Tails yawns.  
“Mind if we find a place to sleep.”  
Shadow nods and quickly finds an empty cave. He sets the fox down softly, gazing around the cave with some interest. Tails yawns again, shivering a little in the higher, cooler mountain air. He walks out of the cave and starts gathering sticks.   
“What are those for?”  
Shadow breaks his silence for the first time since they had been on the ARK. Tails looks over to him.   
“I was planning on making a small fire to help with the cold.”  
Shadow also starts picking up sticks, carrying them over to the cave. Tails makes a small pile and then begins to cut small holes into one stick. Shadow watches as the fox tries to get a flame from quickly spinning on stick in the hole that he made. Then the black hedgehog shoots a chaos spear at the small pile, setting it alight.   
“Wow! I didn't know you could do that! That's so cool.”  
The small fox states after recovering from his initial shock. The fox receives no reply and begins settling in for the night. He leans against the cave wall, the cool stone leaching away some of the warmth provided by the small fire. Shadow also rests against the wall, on the opposite side of the fire. Sleep comes quickly after such an excitement filled day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo. Feel free to take this idea and run with it if you have any ideas! I know im enjoying thinking about it and definitely dont want to stop anyone else if they wanna have a go! Thanks for reading and have a nice day!


	3. Chapter 3

They continue to travel the next day, stopping when they come upon a place that had been decimated by something. Shadow pauses, looking about at this dreadful scene. Some areas were free of debris while others were being cleaned up by people. He sets Tails down and the fox moves to speak with the people. Shadow eyes them warily.

“Excuse me, what happened here?”

One of the humans turns and looks down at the fox.

“Hello! A big hurricane came through and recked a ton of homes.”

“Sorry to hear about your homes…”

Tails looked at the stranger with sadness. The man gave a half-smile in return.

“While the sympathy is kind, I'm not from here. I'm just here to help with the cleanup efforts. Would you and your friend like to help us?”

Tails glances back at Shadow, asking the question with his eyes. The black hedgehog tilts his head in affirmation. The fox turns back to the man with a smile.

“We’d love to help. Where can we start?”

The man directed them to where debris was being piled into a set of trucks to be removed. The two started helping remove objects that were blocking the roadways, with Shadow able to lift and move much faster than the rest of the workers. About midday they pause and a tent that had been set up earlier passes out food to the workers. Tails stretches his arms, with them having developed a small ache from carrying so many heavy objects. Shadow sits apart from the rest of the volunteers to eat and Tails joins him. The hedgehog appears saddened by something. Tails reaches out a hand patting his back as Sonic often had done during his distress. Shadow flinches away with a snarl.

“Don’t touch me!”

Tails moves his hand away, a slight frown marring his muzzle.

“What's wrong Shadow? You seem… er, kinda discontent?”

Shadow huffs, staring out at the destruction that still remains around them. 

“Why do these people give out such kindness to strangers? Why did that woman yesterday act so nicely towards us?”

“Well, that's just how people are. Most people want to help if you tell them there’s a problem and let them help.”

“Why didn't they show the same kindness to Maria?”

Shadow growls lowly, narrowing his eyes into the distance. Tails raises his hand to comfort but holds himself back recalling how well it had gone last time. 

“I don't have an answer for you. What happened on the ARK, no one here on the planet heard about it. Most people were unaware of the place that you lived in. I would have known anything had I not hacked into the government files.”

Tails’ ears tilt back, staring down at his knees. Shadow continues to frown. Tails speaks up, dredging up old memories that still hurt.

“I used to think that everyone who might meet me would want nothing more to hurt me.”

Shadow turned with curiosity to the fox who now is staring out much like he had been doing previously. 

“My parents left me long before I could make memories of them. Maybe on accident. Maybe on purpose, because I was such a freak. At least that's what they told me. I was hounded by bullies from my earliest memories. Attacked for a genetic anomaly that gave me two tails. Beaten for my interest and skill in machinery. I thought the world was only full of angry, hurtful creatures. I might have grown up bitter and angry, full of rage against the world. But Sonic gifted me friendship, showing me that there is goodness to seen. I know this isn't anything like what happened to you. But, in every group of people; in every individual, there is the capability to do good or to do evil. The choice lies within each person.”

Shadow takes in this speech that is spoken softly, filled with the fox’s aching memories. The pilot sighs, placing his head upon his knees.

“I'm sorry about what happened to Maria. I wish there was some way that I could make it better.”

Shadow tilts his head in acknowledgement and the two continue to stare silently off into the distance, until the other volunteers begin to go back to work. The pair work throughout the rest of the day, neither bringing back up the previous conversation. As the sun starts to set and the volunteers begin to head out, so too do Shadow and Tails. Shadow lifts the fox and dashes away, finding another cave to stay in. 

\--------------------------------------------------------

Maria smiles tearfully, watching Shadow slam his hands against the glass. He screams, howling in rage against the attacker, screeching in sorrow as he knew Maria was lost to him. There is nothing that he is able to do and then… and then… 

He awoke with tears streaming down his face, his body trembling. Shadow clenches his fist, unsure of how to calm himself. He cannot breath, his lungs gasping for air. Suddenly he feels a hand softly running down his quills, very similar to how Maria had used to. He bends his head forward sucking in a deep breath, releasing it in rhythm to the calming touches. His eyes burn in pain at the amount of salt and water being diffused into them by tears. Shaking, Shadow feels so cold, as if his body had given up on staying warm. The hand stop petting is quills and he feels someone scoot to sit right beside him, with the hand returning to its calming movements. Shadow tucks his face into the shoulder of his silent companion with soft sobs breaking in between is steadying breaths. A humming echoes off the walls of the cave, eerie but comforting. Shadow slips back into sleep weary from his tears. 

\-------------------------------------------

Tails asks no questions the next day. He wants to respect the hedgehog’s boundaries and he really wants to be there for the seemingly broken-hearted creature. Tails just quietly allow himself to be carried across the continent, letting Shadow call the shots. The hedgehog comes to a city, slowing to a walk. He puts Tails down and begins walking. The small fox quickly follows the hedgehog, embarrassed by all the stares thrown towards the pair. He tucks his head, wishing they would not stare so openly at him.

“Why are they looking at us?”

Tails looks to his right were Shadow had slowed his pace to match the fox’s. His ruby eyes were darting around with extreme trepidation, and Tails could see that he was tensing for a fight. 

“We’re not exactly normal sights in the world.”

“This world?”

Tails wonder how to best explain it to the hedgehog. But before he could form a sentence, the flashing started.

“Sonic!! Look this way!!”

A mob began forming around Shadow, who the people were mistaking for their hero. Tails was edged out, shoved aside by the crowd.

\--------------------

Shadow began desperately searching for his companion in this sea of monsters who were screaming a name that did not belong to him. Had they taken him like Maria? Had he failed another person? Shadow growls and begins shoving against the horde to try to escape. The wall is too thick for him to get through and he seriously considers using his spin dash against these people. Shadow then hears a call of his name from above and he turns his face to the sky. Tails is there, impossibly flying with his two tails. Shadow stretches his hand sky ward and the fox swoops downwards grabbing him firmly and raises the hedgehog from the mass of demons. Shadow looks down at the howling crowd, finding the sight unsettling. He turns his gaze upwards to Tails, who is carrying him for a change. There was a strength there he had yet to see in his companion, but there it was written in the determination that shines through the fox’s eyes. 

Tails lightly sets him down upon a rooftop. The city lays sprawled below. Shadow breathes deeply as wind slips across the roof. A growl emanates from deep within the taller of the two.

“What was wrong with those people?”

Tails glances at Shadow’s narrowed eyed glare and then unexpectedly lets out a giggle. Shadow stares in shock as his companion breaks down into peals of laughter.

“Sorry, sorry. It's just, they mistook you for Sonic, who is kinda a hero. He's also blue and is very opposite to you on the scale of personality. And I find it really funny.”

“You find us being mobbed because I was mistaken for another funny?”

“Only because you are so opposite to him in your attitudes. Normally the crowds aren't much of a problem cause Sonic charms them away or Ella and Mr. Tanaka help out.”

Tails watches on as Shadow continues to scowl, eyes darting around the streets below.

“Shadow.”

The hedgehog feels Tails’ presence closer to him. His attention moves back to the fox.

“Those people didn't mean any harm. They were just excited by the thought of meeting their hero, someone who had saved them. It was an honest mistake, taking you for Sonic. I made it myself when you first woke up. If you're going to be mad, be mad at me not them. I should have considered the probability of this happening and warned you.”

Shadow watches as the fox begins to look downtrodden, the smaller creatures hands worrying at the edges of his gloves. Taking a deep breath, Shadow closes his eyes and collects himself mentally. He did not blame the fox. How could he? This small creature had been nothing but kind to him since he had awoken. What really bothered him was the all-consuming terror that he had felt at the idea of Tails being taken away. He had felt that once before, when losing Maria. Why did he care for someone he had scarcely spent three days with? 

The wind ruffled his quills in a calming manner, almost as if the planet were trying to soothe his troubled mind. The swishing of wind was something he had come to associate with freedom during that first run. Perhaps that is why he had such an attachment to Tails. The little fox, in his own way, was a symbol of freedom and kindness. Shadow knew he had to give a reply soon, he did not want his companion to think that he hated him. 

“I do not blame you. Let us move on.”

Tails smiles with relief, allowing himself to lifted and carted away. There is something in the way that Tails just lets him choose that adds all the more to the fox becoming a figure of freedom to Shadow. He had little choice in where to go on the ARK. There was no leaving and he had to listen to the command of the Doctor. But Tails seemed to hand over trust and control freely, letting Shadow call most of the shots. Shadow is not sure if another had woken him he would be granted such luxurious freedom. 

\-----------

The two had been traveling for the good part of two weeks, meeting with other humans, helping sometimes, and just observing other times. The two’s food mainly came from the kindness of humans, and occasionally from the wilderness. Shadow grew in his knowledge of the planet's kindness and saw their kind interactions with each other. He had awoken, crying in the night more than once in this time span, but each time Tails was there, a calming presence that soothed his aching mind. 

They found themselves in a park, with children every which way with happy yells piercing the air. Tails had fallen into a light doze beneath a tree, carried there by the warmth of the day. Shadow watches as people move throughout the park with some interest. He spots a boy standing at the base of a large metal climbing structure looking upwards.

“Bro you got this! Just climb down!”

“I'm scarred brother.”

“Don't be. I'm right here!”

Shadow passively watches the interaction, pondering over the terms that each boy used for the other. He is unfamiliar with them and resolves to ask Tails when the fox awakens. He continues to watch as the one on the equipment slowly comes down with the encouragement of the other. Once he touches the ground both run off to play else where in the park.

The hours pass slowly and Tails eventually wakes up, seeming confused by Shadow’s question.

“Have you never heard of brothers?”

Shadow raises a brow, simply hoping that the fox would just explain the new word.

“Well a brother is a sibling, like a sister. Most of the time this is some one related by blood to you who comes from the same parents. But you can form similar bonds with nonblood relatives. A brother protects, listens, and cares about you.”

Shadow thinks this over carefully.

“So, Maria was my sister and I, her brother?”

“I cant claim to know much about your relationship with her, but from what you say, you certainly seem to have cared for her very deeply.”

The fox gives him a small smile, one that gives Shadow deep reassurance in using this label. 

“She was my sister. She saved my life despite me being built to protect her. I would give just about anything to trade places with her.”

Shadow looks into the distance, embarrassed and saddened to have revealed so much of himself. But by now he had come to trust the fox with small parts of himself. He feels a hand on his shoulder and for once he does not shove it aside with an angry yell.

“She must have really loved you.”

The black hedgehog nods. Silence drifts between the two, filled with contemplation. The dying rays of the sun cast an orange hue onto the world, a gentle reminder that the two of them should move on and find a place to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! Thank you all for the lovely comments so far. I hope this chapter meets expectations.


	4. Chapter 4

The day after the sad conversation found the two sitting on the roof of a school, watching an informal game of baseball. Tails had explained the game to the best of his ability and now the two were watching from their perch. They had yet to be noticed. The game had steadily grown more competitive with the children chucking the ball faster and the swings becoming stronger. One such hit threw the ball far up into the air and it sailed onto the roof, landing close to the two silent observers.  
“Ah come on man! That was our only ball!”  
“I know!”  
Frustrated yelling breaks out amongst the players as Tails scoops up the ball and then flys down. Shadow jumps down to join him, not wanting his companion to be left alone.  
"Hey guys, I got the ball! You can keep playing."  
As one the crowd turned to stare at the two newcomers. Tails waves the ball at the group with a smile.  
“This yours?”  
“You're Tails! And is that Sonic?!”  
Excited chattering breaks out amongst the children, their eyes alight with interest.  
“Yeah, I'm Tails. This isn't Sonic though. This is Shadow.”  
The boy who had hit the ball to the roof steps forward from the crowd.  
“Would you guys like to play with us? I saw you play in that game against Eggman and…”  
The kid’s sentence trails off as his nervousness catches up to him. Tails looks to Shadow who looks indifferent to the situation. He still had trouble reading his companion, despite all of the time they had spent together.  
“I'd love too. I still have trouble with the rules and I don't think Shadow has ever played before.”  
A cheer rises from the children and a horde of voices starts to explain the rules. Tails lets out a laugh at the excitement and tries to pay attention to all the details being given to him. Then the two are placed into the game, each on a different team to keep the numbers balanced. The team with Shadow has the advantage of speed and and the team with Tails had the advantage of him being able to catch highflying balls before they flew out of the park. The game goes on with excited shouts and Shadow slowly un-tensing around the children. And then it all goes wrong.  
Tails watches as a ball comes flying his way, moving to try and catch it. But he misses with his hands and his face becomes its landing place. The force of it nocks the small fox off his feet, pushing him to the ground. Pain springs through his muzzle. With a slow, worried hand, Tails touches his nose and finds red staining his glove. A bloody nose. The pain is not so much that it feels broken, but it certainly is not the most comfortable. Tails takes off his bandanna and holds it to his nose, hoping to keep blood from matting his fur all over. He pinches the bridge of his nose with his other hand, applying pressure to halt the flow of the red liquid. Then he starts noticing the world around him. Shadow is at his side, having sprinted there as soon as the fox was hit. The hedgehog seems beside himself, unsure of what to do. This trepidation shines through in his amber eyes as his body falls into a fighting stance, snarling at the children that try to get close.  
“Back off!”  
The children froze in fear and Tails realizes that he cannot let his companion do this.  
“Shabow…”  
His voice comes out odd, more pitiful than he had intended. The hedgehog's ears tilt towards him but his eyes stay on the children. The boy who had invited them to play, Charlie, steps forward once more and Shadow growls. Charlie's hands rise up, showing a complete lack of weapons.  
“Hey dude, it was just an accident. Tails looks like he needs some help. We prolly should get some ice on his face to prevent swelling. Does it feel broken?”  
The last question is directed at the fox which causes Shadow to move in front of Tails to block the view of him. Another child steps even closer to Tails, positioned slightly out of Shadow's view. The hedgehog seems to feel this movement and in a flash has Tails held in one hand and the other positioned ready to throw chaos energy.  
“Stay away from my little brother!”  
The hedgehog growls out, clutching the smaller fox to his side. Tails moves his hand from pinching his nose to try and push Shadow’s outstretched hand down.  
“Calbm dobn Shabow. Leb em helb us!”  
Shadow gives Tails a glance and the crowd of children back away. Charlie remains still, his hands remaining in the air. The tension remains.  
“Ib hurbs. Pleabse?”  
Shadow looks once more to his companion. Then he stares hard at Charlie.  
“This better not be a trap.”  
Charlie shakes his head in denial and takes a step to the left and motions for the hedgehog to follow him. Shadow does, eyes continuing to dart around. Tails goes back to pinching his nose and resists the urge to make Shadow put him down. It seemed that he should not push his luck in what Shadow was willing to do at this point. The fox’s ears tilt back in annoyance mixed a bit with pain. Charlie grabs their bags from where they had been placed at the edge of the field. The group of three approach a house and Charlie knocks and opens the door.  
“MA!! One of my friends got hurt!”  
A woman comes rushing into the room, her eyes quickly scanning her own boy before moving on to analyze Tails and Shadow. She reaches to touch Tails and Shadow takes a step backwards, with a snarl. Tails squirms in an attempt to be released, but Shadow is able to keep a hold on him. Giving up, Tails simply moves his hands so that the woman could see the damage. He notices as he does this that the blood had stopped flowing, but his nose still ached.  
“You need an ice pack and something to clean your face with. You can sit at the table”  
The mother states before striding out of the room. Tails gazes up at Shadow hopefully. The hedgehog seems reluctant to place the fox down.  
“They abent gonna hurb me Shabow.”  
Tails tries to reassure his companion, hoping that this whole situation would not ruin all the progress Shadow had made. His voice still sounds funny. The mother returns with a damp cloth and a plastic bag full of ice wrapped in dishrag, raising an eyebrow at Shadow who is still standing there with Tails. Tails’ ears tilt back in embarrassment. He holds out a hand for the items. Shadow lets her get just close enough for her to pass the items over and Tails starts cleaning his face. Once the blood is gone, he puts the cold bag onto his nose. Neither Charlie nor his mother had made any other movements toward the two and this seems to calm Shadow. The two begin talking, turning to each other and Shadow seems to relax into watching Tails.  
“Who are they, Charlie?”  
“Well one is Tails, the fox, he is a hero who helps fight Eggman. The other is Shadow, his older brother.”  
“Older brother?”  
Charlie shrugs at the quirked eyebrow.  
“He called Tails his little bro.”  
Tails listens to this with interest, his mind going back to that moment. It had been somewhat skipped by his mind in all the excitement of getting hurt. Was that how Shadow viewed him? It was a nice thought, having another older brother. He just wished that Shadow would put him down soon.  
It takes a while, but the calm atmosphere seems to convince Shadow that the family is safe. He lets Tails slip from his arms. The fox moves to sit at the table and starts talking to the mother and Charlie. Shadow takes a seat beside him, silent as stone. The hedgehog no longer is glaring or snarling, rather holding his features in a face of indifference. Charlie’s mother is a friendly woman and invites the two to stay for dinner. She takes no offense to Shadow's attitude, accepting as worry on the hedgehog’s part. During dinner, Charlie brings up a question.  
“Would you like to stay the night? It's a friday night, so we could watch a movie!”  
Shadow tilts his head, the only outward sign that Tails gets that his companion is interested. Tails glances at Charlie’s mom, who smiles encouragingly.  
“I don't want us to impose?”  
“It's fine hon, Charlie brings friends over to stay the night all the time. Do you need to call anyone before you stay?”  
This statement sends a giant ice wave straight through the fox, a sudden reminder that he had left his friends in the dark about his safety for so long.  
“I should do that…”  
“The phones right here. Do you have a type of movie you'd like to see? Chalie can set up the living room while you make the call.”  
“Action I guess? I haven't seen a ton of movies.”  
This is a true statement, with much of his time focused on his machines and finding the emeralds. His fingers twitch at the memory of his plane, an ache to see it again welling up. Charlie nods and moves into the living room. Tails walks slowly to the phone, dreading the coming call. He dials the number and listens to the rings. Once. Twice. Then someone picks up.  
“This is the Thorndike residence, Amy speaking. Who may I say is calling?”  
“Hey, this is Tails.”  
“TAILS!! HOW DARE YOU NOT CALL BEFORE NOW!! I thought Sonic was bad but you have achieved a whole new level! When are you coming home?!”  
“I don't know.”  
“How can you not know?? Are you in some sort of danger?!!”  
Tails stutters at the persistent yelling, feeling so much worse than he had before.  
“Im fine..”  
“Obviously not, because YOU DIDN'T CALL BEFORE!!!”  
Tails flinches and slumps against the wall. Closing his eyes, Tails tries to formulate a response. His attempts to speak over the lump that has formed in his through fail and it comes out as a shaky whine. Amy does not notice it over her worried yells. Tails feels the phone being gently removed from his hands. His eyes flash open, watching as Shadow begins to listen to the rant of the pink hedgehog. The taller being grows weary of the yells quickly.  
“Tails is safe. He is healthy. And he is being watched over. Cease your yelling or I will not allow you further contact with him. You are hurting him.”  
The hedgehog pauses for a moment and Tails can hear the screaming return. With an eye roll, Shadow hangs up the phone.  
“She's not going to be happy about this.”  
Tails states worrying his gloves with his hands, biting his lip. Shadow shrugs nonchalantly.  
“Her worry caused you more harm than good. It was unproductive for both parties. Perhaps you shouldn't call her. It seems to give you only discomfort.”  
“Well, that's cause I keep forgetting to call. Its not the conversations themselves.”  
Shadow raises an eyebrow and then ushers Tails into the living room. The movie Charlie had selected is an animated feature about some woman who is knocked out and must be saved by a prince. Tails watches with half interest, more focussed on his guilt. As the movie wraps up, Charlie’s mother offers them the couch for the night and the two accept. Darkness fills the room as the screen and lights are flicked off.  
“Shadow?”  
The hedgehog lets out a small huff to show that he is listening.  
“I wanna go home…”  
Shadow tenses beside him, obviously not liking the statement.  
"There is still so much of the world left to see."  
Tails hears an unspoken 'and' to the statement. His mind supplies the rest. 'and you promised to travel with me.'  
"Some of the world is over water. I have a plane back home…"  
Shadow cuts him off.  
"I can use chaos control. We can go anywhere easily."  
Tails sits quietly, accepting the answer for now. A bit of time passes and his eyes grow heavy. But a new thought stops him from sleeping.  
"Do you really see me as a brother?"  
Shadow hums in confirmation. Tails turns his head to the hedgehog who is leaning back into the couch.  
"Yes. Now sleep."  
"Okay big bro."  
Tails closes his eyes, unaware that his statement had caused Shadow's own eyes to dart open and look at him. The black hedgehog stares for a while before pulling the blanket further onto the fox.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Im trying to consistently update this story on Thursdays, but Im not sure how well thats going to go. Please let me know what you think and if you have any questions! Also I now have a tumblr, https://hermesserpent-stuff.tumblr.com/. You can get in contact with me there if youd like.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning the two leave the area after a nice breakfast with Charlie and his mother. They travel south down into the Southern continent, neither bringing up the late night conversation that had occurred the day before. Shadow slows as they enter a mountainous region at Tails’ request for a chance to view the scenery. The two walk side by side along a path, alone in the midst of the rocks and cliffs. Tails shivers in the cool mountain air. Shadow glances at him with concern, but the fox simply shakes his head in reply. A little further up the path they come across an older man struggling to carry several baskets full of goods. Tails immediately moves over to the man asking if he needs help. The older gentleman responds in a language that Tails is unfamiliar with. The fox flushes with embarrassment.   
“Sorry, I don't understand.”  
The man says something once more, voice gravelly with age. He gently places his burden down and points to it with a question in his face. Tails rubs the back of his head, trying to connect any of the syllables to something he had heard before.  
“He's asking for help.”  
Tails turns sharply to his companion.   
“You understand him? That's great! Can you tell him we’ll help?”  
Shadow scowls, displaying his disinterest in interacting with others. Tails sighs and steps closer to the man, grabbing a basket. The man smiles and points up the path with another slew of words. Shadow also grabs a heavy basket. Tails bobs his head and the man starts walking. He feels slight irritation at Shadow’s unwillingness to speak to anyone other than himself. The older man starts talking calmly as he carries onwards up the mountain. Tails glances to Shadow, eyes conveying his wishes. Shadow hums tilting his ears and then starts whispering to Tails a translation of the man's words. Its a tale from the mountains around them, a myth full of serpentine monsters. Tails listens to both the firm, thickly accented voice of the man and Shadow’s whispery explanation of the words. The story helps move his mind’s focus from the heaviness of the basket and the longness of the road.   
The trio have just entered into a flatter section of the path that is wider than it had been before when assailants come from the mountainside above them. They are quickly surrounded by the group that are waving around weaponry. They speak the same language as the older man, yelling something. Tails looks at Shadow who has put down his basket in preparation for a fight.   
“They want what we are carrying.”  
Tails also places his basket down.  
“Well they can't have it. What's the man we are helping saying to them.”  
“He's begging them to not take anything. And they are refusing his pleas.”  
Tails grimaces. His tails twitch, ready to lift him from the ground. The group moves towards them, the apparent leader coming straight up into the older man's face with a pistol. Tails takes this as the sign to act. He moves forwards and pulls the older man away from the weapon. Shadow had leaped into action as soon as Tails had moved forwards, spin dashing into the leader. The pistol goes flying off the side of the path, down the edge of the mountain. The fox uses his tails to fly upto and kick some of the attackers in the face. One gets in a lucky hit, dragging a knife across the fox’s belly. This knocks the smallest of the trio to the ground, but luckily it is only a slight cut. Tails rises, checking on the old man. Nothing had happened to him. Tails looks around noting that the attackers are fleeing. He looks down at the cut, which is barely bleeding. Figuring he could deal with it later Tails moves to pick up his basket. Shadow stops him.  
“You are hurt.”  
There is a growl present in his voice. Tails gives a reassuring smile.  
“Not really. There’s not that much blood compared to yesterday.”  
Something in Shadow's eyes shifts and the hedgehog moves to start perusing the bandits. Tails touches his shoulder.  
“It’s not worth it. Let’s keep going.”  
Tails takes note of Shadow not drawing away from him and of the obedience present in the head bow. He hates the thought that Shadow thinks he has to obey him, but he does not bring it up, worried that the hedgehog would get hurt while chasing after the bandits. The old man is watching them closely, quietly observing their interaction. The trio all pick up their baskets and begin moving up the mountain once more.   
———  
The trip passes in eerie silence, broken only by the crunching of stones beneath their shoes. Tails continues to shiver as they get higher into the mountain. The thinning of the air is not helping with the strain of carrying the basket. But neither the man, nor Shadow seems ready to stop, so fox shoulders on. A long while later they finally reach a village. The old man goes towards a particular house. He is soon surrounded by a group of younger people. They relieve him of his basket and he smiles at them talking quickly back and forth. He points back to the two while speaking.   
One young man walks over and begins speaking rapidly. Tails smiles and awkwardly says hello, not understanding what the man is saying. The man pauses for a second thinking hard.  
"English?"  
"Yeah. Sorry."  
"It is okay. You help father. Thank you!"  
The man seems very earnest in his thanks while Tails blushes and deflects. The man and another son of the older man relieve Tails and Shadow of their burdens. They are lead to a small house that is teaming with the relatives of the older man. Both the fox and hedgehog are welcomed and drawn into the bustling crowd. The smell of food fills the house, joined by joyful talking. The son who had first spoken to them introduces himself as Andren. He continues talking to Tails through the night explaining why the older man, Selpt, had been out alone in the first place.  
“Grandpa would not wait till any of us were free. Work is constant. He went alone.”  
“He sounds stubborn.”  
Andren nods with a laugh.  
“Yes.”  
“It kinda reminds me of a friend of mine back home, Chuck. He’s older, but won’t listen to anyone’s advice that would keep him from getting hurt.”  
“Old and stubborn. They go together.”  
Tails laughs. During this conversation he does not notice Shadow’s eyes narrow with worry over the mention of home. The moment passes and no one is the wiser. 

\-------------------------------  
The food is soon done and everyone sits wherever there is room. Shadow and Tails sit together with their backs against the wall. The atmosphere is warm and full. Tails sighs, a slight frown slipping onto his face. Shadow notices it, a pit forming in his stomach. He has a deep suspicion that this scene is reminding the fox strongly of home. While he did not enjoy his brothers discontent, returning him home could lead to several bad things. Firstly, staying in a single place made it far easier for Them to come after Tails as They had come for Maria. Secondly, there was the chance that once returned to his friends, Tails would… Shadow removed the thought quickly, unhappy to even think about it. It painted Tails in too dark a light for his tastes.   
Shadow sips the bitter drink that had been provided, hoping that its bitterness will replace his own. Tails seems to recognize that something is wrong but Shadow is able to ward him off with a shake of his head. It would not do for his brother to be in a constant state of worry over him. Shadow attempts to shove down his negativity and begins quietly translating to Tails a story that Selpt had begun telling. This story seemed to focus on the families on mythological ancestors. Shadow loses himself in the tale, whispering the words just loud enough for Tails to hear them and also enjoy the story.   
The night ends with the two getting a small bed in the corner of the living room. Sleep comes slowly but eventually has the two in its grasp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo. Here is that thursday update. Sorry that this chapter's a bit shorter than the rest.   
If youd like to talk feel free to contact me!  
I have a Tumblr: https://hermesserpent-stuff.tumblr.com/  
Hope youre having a great day!


	6. Chapter 6

Tails wakes up before Shadow to the sound of excited yelling coming from outside. He rises and goes to investigate. There is a group of children outside happily kicking a ball around the dirt ground. One spots Tails and kicks the ball over. He laughs and kicks it back. The fox does not really understand what is going on but finds himself loving the game anyways. The only annoyance comes from the bitter cold that is brought in by the wind. A parent takes note of his shivers and gives him a thick sweater that looks like it once was brightly colored but now has been dulled with age. Tails returns to the game, much warmer now.   
\---------------------  
Shadow wakes up slowly, sleep still clinging to his bones. He cracks an eye open, huffing at the cold that exists beyond. He closes it. But then something starts to poke at his mind. Something is not quite right. Shadow grumbles and then it hits him. Where is Tails? Panic floods him as he leaps to his feet and quickly glances around the house. He hears noises from outside and he rushes out. He pauses as he catches sight of Tails laughing and running. He breathes a deep calming breath. The fear slips slowly from his gut and he leans against the house. Shadow watches the game continue, noting the new sweater that Tails is wearing. A woman comes over to Shadow, bearing a similar sweater. Shadow accepts it, pulling over his head. He goes back to silently watching. Tails pauses after kicking the ball, catching sight of Shadow. The fox waves with a large smile and then he continues to play. The game goes on for a while longer before kids begin to disperse back to their homes. Tails walks over to Shadow.   
“Hey! How are you doing today?”  
Shadow knows that Tails is referring back to his bitter attitude from the night before.  
“I’m fine. Are you ready to leave?”  
The fox frowns a little. Tails fidgets nervously.  
“Cant we stay a little longer?”  
Shadow glowers at the ground, feeling that they had already spent too much time in the same place.  
“I’m not sure that’s a great idea.”  
“Why not? We never have stayed in one place for long?? These people are nice. Is that what’s wrong? Do you think that they are going to become mean?”   
“No.”  
Shadow responds with a single word. Tails seems to be frustrated.  
“Then what is it, brother?”  
Shadow avoids the question.  
“Are you ready or not?”  
“No. I want an answer. Please.”  
Shadow growls, not really wanting to have to explain himself, fearing that his words might make his fears come true faster.   
“Let’s go Tails.”  
“No.”  
This is the first time that Tails had resisted leaving a place at Shadow’s request. A snarl comes from the hedgehog which causes the fox’s ears to bend back in fear. Tails steps back worry filling his features.  
“Shadow?”  
He hates the tremble that accompanies his name. Shadow closes his eyes and breaths to calm himself down. He works the scowl off his face and twists himself to look less intimidating.   
“Tails. I don’t…”  
Spotting the tears in his smaller brother’s eyes, Shadow pulls the smaller into a tight hug, similar to those that Tails had so often given him.   
“I’m sorry. I’m not mad at you.”  
The hedgehog felt the need to clarify this to his companion. Tails clutches him tightly tears starting to flow faster and heavier.  
“I wanna go home.”  
Shadow stiffens at this but the fox’s words continue to tumble out.  
“I hate being here on this planet. I want to go home to Mobius. Everything here is so much the same but its all wrong. I wanna go home!”  
The rest is lost as the fox buries his face into Shadow’s chest. The hedgehog is surprised at this turn of events. Had they not just been fighting? How had they arrived at these tears?  
“Its going to be fine Tails.”  
The only response is a sniffle.  
“Will staying an extra day here help? Because we can.”  
Shadow continues to whisper empty promises as he acts as a rock for Tails, an odd twist on their typical dynamic. Shadow is wondering how long this outburst has been building.   
\--------------  
Tails draws back from Shadow, wiping his face with embarrassment.   
“Sorry…”  
Shadow shakes his head, signaling that no apology is needed. The hedgehog takes a deep breath and then starts to speak.  
“Now that you are calmer, I think you deserve an explanation. We’ve been traveling together for the better part of a month. I keep moving us around because… well because… I’m worried I won’t be enough.”  
Tails tilts his head in confusion.  
“I worry I won’t be enough to stop the government from taking you away. They took her and I was powerless.”  
Shadow looks at his hands. Tails grabs both in his own tightly and gives a smile.  
“The government isn’t out to get me. They already know where I normally live. They even gave me all the paperwork I need to live in the county! Look.”  
Tails pulls out the documents that Chuck had told him to carry everywhere with him out of his satchel that also held the chaos emerald. Shadow takes the passport and flying licenses, looking through it all. Tails hopes that this will help to soothe the other’s worries. Shadow hands the items back, worry still locked behind his eyes.   
“Maria’s father had all the proper paperwork too…”  
“But he also was conducting some very illegal very dangerous activities behind closed doors.”  
Shadow’s eyes widen. Tails is surprised. He had though the Shadow would have known this.   
“He was creating some pretty off the rails stuff. I'm pretty sure that's why the ARK was invaded in the first place.”  
Tails pauses, feeling odd revealing the information that he had found while snooping around the government's secret archives. He sees a bit of conflict on Shadow’s face.   
"Maybe it would be better if you saw all of this for yourself."  
Shadow huffs, pulling Tails into another hug.  
“Let us forget about it for now brother. We have an entire day before us in this village to fill with other things than my worries.”  
Tails nods with a small smile. He knew that a form of this discussion was going to be coming up again. It had to if he ever wanted to return the Thorndike house. But for now, he let his mind shift away from it as both siblings got involved with helping around the village.   
\----------  
They leave the next day, a backpack full of food that they had tried and failed to refuse. Shadow had decided to run back northward returning to the North American Continent. They enter into a desert area as night falls. Tails asks to stop so that they can sleep out beneath the stars. The galaxy is on clear display before the two of them, backed with complete silence from the landscape around them. Civilization is far far away. Tails smiles gently at the heavens, warm and content with his sweater on and his brother nearby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a lot of talking. Not much action. I hope you all enjoyed this! Please feel free to contact me with questions, ideas, clarifications, ambiguities, or just straight up if you need someone to talk to. I hope you have a good day!


	7. Chapter 7

Tails wakes up in Shadow’s arms with the warm wind pushing against his face. He blinks blearily at the world, wanting nothing more than to slip back into sleep. But, he needed to know why before he could do so.  
“Shadow?”  
“Hmm?”  
That is all the reply the fox gets to his sleep-filled question.  
“You're running.”  
Its a statement but both know that it is a question.  
“Nightmares.”  
Tails sighs sadly and curls into Shadow.  
“‘M safe.”  
“I know.”  
“Okay. as long as you know. Wake me if you need me.”  
Tails is too tired to be dealing with this and if running calmed Shadow down then the fox was not going to make a big deal out of it. His attempts to fall back asleep are soon interrupted. A blue blur comes flying across the desert, pulling alongside Shadow and then slamming into the black hedgehog. Tails’ eyes fly open as he is sent sailing through the air and then caught.  
“Hey, little buddy!”  
Tails stares silently at Sonic, shock, and tiredness rendering him mute.  
“Mind explaining who your kidnapper is?”  
Shadow is now gliding alongside Sonic a deep scowl marring his features.  
“I guess I can ask you myself!! You’re pretty fast buddy! Who might you be?”  
“I am not your buddy. Return my brother to me.”  
Shadow snarls out his words, clearly unhappy with the current situation.  
“Sorry to tell ya this, but he’s my little bro. Has been for years. But I can see how there’s some confusion faker!”  
Sonic runs a little faster, the desert sand flying up into a cloud behind him. Shadow keeps pace as the two hedgehogs move across the heated sands. Tails is starting to regain his mental facilities as Sonic starts to zigzag across the desert. The blue blur has a look of delight upon his face as Shadow manages to keep up with him. Tails tries to get his blue brother’s attention.  
“Bro! That's Shadow. I've been traveling with him, willingly. He did not kidnap me.”  
Sonic hums in reply before Shadow starts tossing energy blasts at Sonic. One manages to trip him and Shadow snatches Tails back.  
“Shadooooowww!!”  
The fox howls, his stomach churning at the sudden change in direction. The darker hedgehog sets off in another direction, skating to a series of mountains that are just within sight. The pair hear a burst of loud laughter coming from behind as Sonic starts to catch up.  
“This is what I call a good race.”  
Shadow smirks at Sonic’s remark while Tails tries to settle himself back into being carried. The closer they come to the mountains, the greater the number of obstacles that the two bounce around. There are houses, one of which Sonic uses to jump in front of Shadow and steal back Tails. The fox lets out an oof at the change of arms and Sonic seems to get a good head start up into the mountains as Shadow slams against a wall. The fox attempts to explain things once more.  
"I’ve been traveling with Shadow for this whole time. He's not a threat, just a little misguided at times. Can we stop running around and just talk?"  
Sonic flashes him a large grin, his emerald eyes sparkling with mischief.  
"Nah. This is way more fun. Plus think of it as a reward for me having to comfort a sad Cream and Cheese."  
Tails winces. He then stops any attempts to talk his way out of the situation. The guilt is enough to buy his silence. By now the pace the two hedgehogs are setting is becoming unsettling for the fox. Tails closes his eyes to avoid seeing the blurry world. He feels queasy. When he is snatched once more by Shadow, the fox lets out a sickened groan.  
"Please stop."  
The orange pilot begs, not wanting to be sick. Shadow glances at him, taking in the very pale face of his companion. The dark hedgehog then casts his gaze around the mountain slope that he is climbing, hoping to find something. Tails does not notice any of this, curling into his companion in an attempt to pull his mind from his stomach. Shadow dashes into a cave, placing Tails down at the back of it, and then he positions himself in front of the fox. Tails curls into a ball, miserable and ill. He had never been so violently jerked around in his travels with Shadow.  
\--------------  
Shadow faces the front of the cave, ears tilted back towards his companion. The foreign hedgehog, who had claimed to be Tails’ brother, is now standing in the mouth of the cave. The two eye each other warily. The blue hedgehog moves into the cave causing Shadow to growl. He was not losing another person that was dear to him.  
“Step back.”  
Shadow snarls out. When his order is not obeyed, he tosses energy at the intruder. The blue speedster backs up with a yelp. Suddenly, Shadow finds Tails clinging to his arm. The small fox speaks up.  
“Don’t shoot him! That’s Sonic. I’ve talked about him before, remember?”  
Shadow can vaguely remember mention of Sonic from previous conversations. He was a very close friend of Tails. This made him a larger threat in the eyes of Shadow. Sonic makes another attempt at walking forward.  
“Stay back!”  
Sonic steps back at the black hedgehogs yell. Tails begins to try and soothe his companion.  
“Hey, it’s alright. He’s not a threat.”  
“Yes, he is.”  
Both of the other creatures in the cave pause at this statement. Tails starts trying to defuse the situation once more. The fox moves closer to Shadow, forcing the taller to hold him in a side hug. Tails speaks calmly.  
“I’m safe. You’re still here with me.”  
The fox’s eyes dart to Sonic then to the mouth of the cave, hoping his blue brother would get the idea. Shadow notes this and the obedience of the blue hedgehog who leaves the cave. Tension slides from Shadow’s body. He is still ready for a fight, but he is visibly less jaded.  
“Bro, what’s wrong?”  
The fox smooths down his quills, a motion well practiced from many nightmares.  
“He’s going to take you. You’re going to leave me all alone.”  
Just like in his nightmares. Shadow stares down at his companion, worry painted clearly onto his face. Tails sighs and hugs the taller hedgehog.  
"I have to go home at some point brother. You knew that since the start of our travels. Sonic just presents the embodiment of that. But that doesn't mean you have to be alone. Come back with me. I'm sure everyone would love to meet you!"  
Shadow feels something twist in his stomach. Something ugly and sickly and full of darkness.  
"You're my brother."  
He growls at his close companion, arms shifting to hold the fox in a tight hug. Tails hums a little, a slight frown at the sheer amount of possessiveness that is laced in the dark hedgehog’s words.  
"I'm also Sonic's brother. You can't ask me to fully abandon the only family that I had for years. He's my brother, my house, and my white picket fence. Imagine I asked you to leave Maria to stay with only me. Would that be fair?"  
Shadow breathes deeply, pained at the thought. He's not sure how to proceed. Because, yes, Tails is right. Shadow knows he's not being fair. But he still has his two fears. The first is that going back to Tails' home and staying would present a perfect target for the smaller to be taken away. And two, the second on he had refused to think about before and is now fully screaming in his thoughts, the fear that once Tails goes back to his family, the fox will completely abandon Shadow, leaving him more alone than ever. The hedgehog does not know how to vocalize any of this and just keeps hugging Tails for comfort.  
Tails seems to read something from Shadow's face and looks to be thinking of what to say next. Shadow closes his eyes focusing on the fox’s soothing words.  
“Hey. I promised to travel with you till you saw that there was good in humanity. And I think we’ve seen a lot of evidence with people being kind to each other and to us. Despite us being total strangers! And none tried to take me away. I promise this will continue if you come home. Let’s go home Shadow.”  
This was the first time that Tails had called it Shadow’s home too. The hedgehog mulls over this quietly.  
“I won’t attack if he comes in.”  
It was not a full surrender, but it was a compromise. Tails takes the opportunity.  
“Sonic!”  
\------------------------------

Tails turns to the mouth of the cave, a small glimmer of hope present in his stomach. His blue brother pokes his head in, warily stepping forwards. Shadow keeps his eyes closed and face bent towards Tails, his arms refusing to stop the hug. Tails smiles invitingly at his other brother.  
“Hey.”  
The fox says softly, not wanting to accidentally stir anything up. Sonic replies in a similar softness.  
“Hey, little buddy. What’s up?”  
Tails sighs, wondering how this conversation is going to go.  
“Nothing much. Just, um, traveling.”  
“Cool. Cool. Cool. So mind telling me who your friend is exactly. I know you tried to explain before.”  
An unsaid “ I wasn't listening” exists in the air of the cave. Sonic’s eyes dart over the face of the other hedgehog.  
“This is Shadow. I found him and started traveling with him.”  
“Okay. But how exactly did this all happen? One day we find a note saying you’re going for a walk in the city. And then we get a phone call later saying that you’re planning on traveling and we notice the chaos emerald is gone. Then you call again and Amy gets yelled at by a stranger who threatened that we might not hear from you again”  
Tails is not sure how much of Shadow’s backstory he should reveal. It is not really his story to tell.  
“Its a bit complicated.”  
“We have time.”  
The fox sighs. Then he starts from the beginning, explaining how he had found out about the hedgehog while hacking. He then explains breaking into prison island and the two of them escaping. He is not sure about revealing the ARK, so the pilot does not mention their jaunt into space. He then explains the agreement that he made with Shadow to show the hedgehog the good in the world. He then goes through some of their adventures.  
At this point, everyone in the cave is seated. Sonic is listening intently to the story, with a thoughtful look on his face. The fox quickly wraps up, a bit tired of being the only one talking.  
"Sounds like quite the adventure buddy."  
Tails looks at Sonic, a little surprised to find no anger present in the others eyes.  
"But, while you were roaming around, everyone was worried. Especially Chuck. We had to stop him from flying the X Tornado all over the globe to search for you."  
Tails slumps at this, guilt showing up clearly in all of his features.  
"I-i- I'd like to go home. And bring Shadow."  
Sonic looks at the other hedgehog who had not done much of anything since the beginning of the conversation. Shadow opens his eyes and stares back.  
“I'd like to hear what he has to say.”  
Tails quietly waits for the response to Sonic, knowing that Shadow disliked speaking to anyone outside of what the hedgehog considered family. He pats the others arm encouragingly.  
“Where ever Tails goes I’ll follow. He’s my little brother.”  
“Will you protect him?”  
“I’d give my life for him.”  
There is no hesitation in Shadow’s answer to Sonic’s question. No waver comes into his voice. Tails blushes, embarrassed.  
“That’s not going to be necessary bro, but thank you.”  
Tails states with a slightly nervous laugh in his voice. He hoped it would never come to that point. The fox knew the other would follow through if such a situation ever occurred, based on the past actions of Shadow.  
“That’s all I needed to hear! Welcome to the family.”  
Sonic extends a hand and Shadow tentatively takes it. They shake and Tails lets out a sigh of relief.  
“Alright!! Let’s go home!”  
Tails leaps up with a smile, beaming at his two hedgehog brothers. Sonic stands and then traps his head in a noogie.  
“Okay, lil buddy. Race you back!”  
The blue hedgehog bolts from the cave. Shadow scoops up Tails, rushing after the blue speedster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to update. I got stuck. :( BUT, I think I know where Im going now! Thank you all for the comments and kudos!  
Feel free to message me if you have any questions or would like to talk!


	8. Chapter 8

Sam Speed was having a completely normal day, pulling over speeders and going far slower than he would have liked. Sonic had not been around to race in a while, too busy searching for that fox friend that had gone missing. Well, more like “missing”, because they knew he was traveling the world, just not where. Sam honestly failed to understand what the big deal was. Sonic roamed all over the place and there was only some complaining from the hedgehogs worried “girlfriend”. But the fox decides to do something similar and everyone freaks out.

Sam leans against his wheel, contemplating the whole situation. There really is not anything he can do to help his nephew and friends with their collective angst. Maybe a race would clear the air? His solution to most problems was to race and Sam knows it might not work for others, but what else has he to offer? 

He pulls onto the road, moving to patrol the city. Maybe they would all get lucky and that fox would return on his own today. Sam tries to shrug it all off, but it seems that worry is infectious. It had even caused the normally cheerful resident hedgehog to have a sour mood. In the corner of his eye he catches a blue blur in his side mirror with a black blur right beside it. Sam blinks. Then he refocuses, and the two blurs remain, except much closer. The two then change directions, moving to another street. Deciding he wants to know what is going on, he revs up his vehicle and quickly changes streets. He speeds up, quickly pulling along side the familiar hedgehog and his unfamiliar accompanying black blur. Sam takes quick note that it is a second speedy hedgehog, one which is carrying the missing fox. He waves to Sonic.

“Hey Sonic! I see you found Tails! Wanna race back to the house?”

Sonic looks like he is considering the challenge which is more of a reaction than he had gotten in the last time he had asked the question. Sonic glances at the stranger along with the fox.

“You down for another in our race Shads?”

The black hedgehog nods and Sam revs his engine loudly before zooming off. He spots both hedgehogs in his mirrors, moving to go faster.

————————

Tails watches as he, Shadow, and Sonic pull ahead of Sam’s car. He had never been involved so closely with any of these races. It is exhilarating. But, he wants more than just the speed. A small desire grows in him that had not ever been present before. Tails wants to win against Sonic and Sam. 

“Do you wanna beat them?”

The fox asks the hedgehog carrying him. Shadow gives a small smirk.

“What do you have in mind?”

“Launching from a ramp and speed flying straight to the house instead of winding back and forth through the streets.”

“If only I knew which way the house was.”

Shadow responds sarcasm and amusement hinting in his voice. Tails grins in response, quickly looking around and then pointing after figuring out their location. Shadow darts to the side as soon as he spots a way to easily run up into the air. Neither of the other racers seem to notice. Shadow pushes himself to go faster as he hurtles up the side of a slanted building, leaping into the air. Tails twists, holding tightly to his brother’s wrists. He lets the force of Shadow leaping into the air propel them both quickly forward, using his tails to keep them above the tops of buildings. He rapidly flies in a straight line across the city, pushing his tails to go as fast as they can across the sky. Wind slices through his fur, and brings tears to his stinging eyes. It reminds him of why he should get some flight goggles. He hears a soft laugh from his companion. A quick glance down shows the hedgehog is watching the world below with a smile. Tails looks back up and attempts to pick up the pace, a bit of pride in his system to be the one carrying for once and his ability to bring a smile to his brothers face.

Tails spots the house and a very quick glance shows that the others are a bit far behind. The fox knew he would be unable to beat them on his own flying power.

“Get ready to land!”

The only response he gets is a squeeze on the grip that Shadow has on the fox’s wrists. Tails takes this to mean that the other is ready, and angles himself towards the ground. As soon as they are close enough, Shadow begins to run, pulling the fox from the air and back into his arms. The movement is fluid, almost as if they had practiced a million times. They arrive at the house far before the other two racers. Shadow gently places Tails down. Suddenly a pink figure runs out of the house, grabbing Shadow in a hug.

"Sonic! You found Tails!"

Tails watches with slight horror as his brother freezes up at the aggressive touch. Before he can act, Sonic and Sam arrive at the house. Amy looks at the two and releases Shadow, mouth open. 

"You're not Sonic!"

Tails moves to his darker brother's side, placing himself between him and Amy. Shadow seems to have frozen in shock, having been caught way off guard. Amy rushes over to the blue hedgehog, clutching onto him tightly.

“Who is that?! He looks like you Sonic.”

Sonic struggles out of the hug and then begins his explanation.

“That’s Shadow. He’s Tails’ friend.”

Amy looks over in concern. Tails refocuses on his dark brother. He moves to where Shadow can see him and then touches the hedgehog’s arm. Shadow shutters, seeming to return to the present. He places a hand onto Tails’ shoulder, causing the fox to draw his own hand back. Shadow seemed to be steadying himself. Tails speaks up.

“Hey Amy. This is Shadow. Ive been traveling around with him for a little while.”

Amy’s face twists into one of worried anger.

“You left without so much as a word to anyone! There was a note and then a call! And nothing for so long! I was so worried. Sonic was worried.”

The blue hedgehog tries to motion a sort of denial from behind Amy, who has been walking progressively closer to Tails.

“What if you had gotten hurt? Or captured by Eggman? We had no way to contact you to make sure you were fine!”

Tails’ ears fold back as his head droops with the guilt. Everything she said was true and the fox knew the scolding was warranted. It did not make the feeling any more pleasant. Shadow’s grip grows tighter. 

“I would have protected him. I did protect him.”

Amy’s focus shifts as a deep growl emanates from Shadow.

“And you! You were the one who hung up and scared me! You’ve been keeping Tails from coming back, haven’t you!”

Shadow stands his ground, unaffected by her accusations. Tails hated being between the two strong willed hedgehogs. He shifts nervously as silence fills the air as Shadow refuses to answer, instead settling for a fierce glare which is matched by Amy.

“Ames. Come on. Leave it be. Tails is back and he’s obviously safe.” 

Amy turns back to Sonic. 

“Of course you’d let this go so easily. Argh.”

Something seems to deflate in Amy’s posture. She turns back around and snatches Tails into a hug. Both him and Shadow are shocked by this turn of emotions. Amy whispers.

“I missed you. Don’t scare me like that.”

She steps back, wiping her teary eyes.

“Lets go inside. Everyone will be excited to see you and meet a new person.”

Amy starts heading towards the door. Sonic and Sam quickly follow her. Tails turns to Shadow. 

“Hey. Are you ok?”

“Yes. I am fine Tails.”

“Are you ready to meet some more people?”

Shadow breathes deeply, centering himself. Tails offers his elbow, recognizing that touch helped Shadow to calm. Shadow takes the offering, and the two go arm in arm into the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all of the Kudos and comments! Thank you especially, Hazard, I always look forward to seeing what you have to say.   
Hope y'all have enjoyed the story so far! See ya next Thursday.


	9. Chapter 9

Upon entering the living room, Tails is met with a beaming Cream. The bunny ducks to the side that Shadow is not occupying giving Tails a tight side hug.   
“Tails!! I’m so happy your home! I missed you!”   
Tails squeezes her, returning the smile.   
“Hey Cream. This is Shadow, a new friend I made.”  
“Hello, Mister Shadow! I’m going to go tell Miss Ella so we can make you a welcome home cake!”  
The bunny bounces out of the room, closely followed by her chao. Shadow watches warily as others filter into the living room. Tails bumps against Shadow, reminding him of his presence. Ella enters the room with a pan, happiness is clearly written on her face.   
“So Cream was right. Glad to have you home! And welcome to the household Shadow.”  
The woman leans down for a quick hug of Tails and then hurries back to the kitchen. Sonic and Sam enter the room, trailed closely by Chris and Chuck. Chris gives Tails a hug and a smile.  
“You gave us quite a scare Tails. I’m glad to have my lab buddy back.”  
Tails rubs the back of his head with an awkward grin on his face.  
“Glad to be back Chuck.”  
Chris stares at Shadow during the two other's exchange.   
"I didn't know others from your world had crossed over? I'm Chris."  
Chris extends his hand and Shadow stares at the kid. Sonic answers.  
"His name's Shadow. He's from this world. He's the quiet type."  
Tails shoots Sonic a quick glare at the last sarcastic sentence. The blue hedgehog shrugs nonchalantly. The fox sighs and focuses back on Chuck. The older man inspects the fox.   
"Both of you are pretty dirty. Go wash up and we can catch up afterward.”  
Tails nods.  
"Come on Shadow, there is more than one shower upstairs."  
The fox gently tugs his brother up the stairs showing him the two bathrooms that are side by side. The hedgehog seems uncomfortable with the thought of being separated, but Tails assured him that it would not be for long.   
Tails carefully folds up the sweater he had been gifted and the bandanna and sets the two items aside. Then he places the satchel with the chaos emerald on top of his shoes and gloves. The small pilot steps into the shower, turning the dial to a pleasantly warm stream of water. Tails watches the dirt swirl down the drain, lost in thought. How was this gonna work? He hoped beyond hope that Shadow would feel safe here eventually. But perhaps it was a fool’s dream? Tails does not know.   
Grabbing soap, Tails pushes his concerns down. He just had to do his best. Nothing more could be asked of him.   
\------  
Shadow stares at the shower. He had used one many times on the Space Colony ARK, but he hesitates. The dark hedgehog feels nervous without Tails in eyesight. That had rarely occurred in the last month and he tries to ignore the anxiety. He quickly prepares himself and steps into the shower. He removes as much as he can, water lacing through his spines. When he exits the shower, he does his best to dry off but finds it difficult. He had always had Maria’s help with his back quills that he could never quite reach. Considering his options, the hedgehog chucks on his shoes and gloves, while simultaneously shoving away his memories of his sister. He grabs the towel and moves into the hall, knocking on the door of the bathroom that Tails had gone into. Tails takes a minute before opening the door. The fox has his towel draped over his shoulder.  
“Hey, Shadow. I was just about to dry my tails. Do you need something?”  
“Could you help me with my quills? Maria used to always have too…”  
Shadow trails off looking away. Tails’ face softens.   
“How about you help me with my tails and I’ll help you with your quills.”  
Shadow nods and sits on the stool in the bathroom. Tails takes a seat on the closed toilet. Both trade towels and start to dry. Shadow breathes deeply trying to let go of his stress. Tails speaks calmly.  
“You know things are going to work out. You saw everyone was happy to meet you. Please give them a chance.”  
Shadow nods, working quietly.  
“I’m sure Chuck will love having someone else in the lab. And Sonics is always happy to have a new challenge.”  
“They all won’t be as… touchy as that pink hedgehog?”  
“No. Amy thought you were Sonic, who she has a bit of a crush on. Ella might give you a hug, but she probably won’t until you’ve been around for a while. It’s okay to be nervous though if that’s something you are worried about.”  
Shadow simply nods, rolling his shoulders. 

\--------

Tails happily interacts with everyone in the kitchen, only mildly concerned that Shadow is sitting in silence beside him. He had hoped, very slightly, that the hedgehog would warm up to the rest of the group, but knew from experience that it was highly unlikely to happen. It was nice to be back amongst his close friends.   
Sonic enters the room, passing by, ruffling the fox’s hair as he makes his way to the table. Cream presents the cake that she had made with Ella. Tails smiles and lets himself fall into the warmth of familiarity. He would worry over Shadow making friends later, deciding to simply enjoy the smiles and welcome backs.   
\---------------------

Shadow looks around the room given to him that is next to Tails’. He stands stiff in the entrance of the room. It is nice enough, if a bit impersonal due to it being a guest room. Tails is inside indicating where everything in the room is. Shadow hears none of this. Stress causes him to squeeze his arms as he holds them crossed against his chest. He had never gone to sleep alone in a room consciously. He knows that Tails had promised that they were safe in this house, but it felt so wrong.   
Tails turns to Shadow with a hand on the bed, seeming to be waiting for an answer. Shadow winces, having no idea what had been said. Tails huffs with a fond smile.  
“I said, won’t it be nice to sleep in a real bed.”  
Shadow simply nods, not trusting his voice to not give away his anxiety. He wants to not worry his brother further than he had already. He attempts a smile instead. Tails gives him a grin in return.   
“Well, good night bro. I’m in the room to the left if you need me.”  
Shadow nods, stepping into the room to let the fox pass. He catches Tails’ shoulder as the smaller brother passes. Tails pauses and Shadow draws him slowly into a hug. Tails hugs him back.  
“Are you going to be okay?”  
“I’ll be okay. Be safe.”  
Its a demand, not a request. Tails nods and Shadow releases him. The fox exits and Shadow gently closes the door. He turns to the bed, before reaching for the light switch to flick it off. Crossing the room in the dark seems to emphasize how devoid of others it is. Shadow settles into the bed. He closes his eyes. Time to sleep.  
\----------  
Tails leaps from his bed as soon as he hears the first scream. It had been a while since Shadow had reacted severely to a nightmare. The pilot thought Shadow would be fine. But the fact that he is sprinting into the hallway to reach the room beside his, tells a different story. Tails moves quickly into the room, advancing to his brother.   
“Shadow!”  
He calls, gently placing his hands on the dark hedgehog’s arms. Shadow lifts the fox into his arms, pacing the room. Tails speaks calmly, wanting to reach his friend. He glances at the doorway and spots Sonic gripping the frame. Tails ignores him in favor of continuing to whisper comforting words.  
“Hey Shadow, I’m safe, your safe. I’m so so sorry. I shouldn’t have left you in a room alone. I did not think it through. I’m sorry.”  
Shadow hums, breathing deeply and slowly growing calm.   
“Can you stay.”  
Shadow barely whispers, the words almost lost to the fox. Tails quickly thinks up a plan.  
“There are sleeping bags in the hall closet. Let’s grab two of them and move into the attic.”  
He hears movement in the entranceway and sees Sonic now standing there with three sleeping bags. Shadow also spots this and nods quietly.   
“Ok. Let’s go.”  
The trio moves up into the attic. Shadow lets Tails down, having calmed slightly. The fox sets about unfolding the bags for use. Sonic dashes in and out of the room, adding more pillows with each trip. The blue blur stops when Shadow has settled down, leaning against Tails as both sit in separate sleeping bags with their backs in the corner of the room, surrounded by the soft objects. The blue hedgehog slips into another bag that is separate from the two. He watches on as Tails continues to speak calmly.  
“You can go back to sleep bro.”  
Shadow hums, glancing at Sonic. The blue hedgehog nods at the other.  
“I’ll help keep both of you safe. You’re family Shads.”  
Shadow nods closing his eyes and resting his head fully on Tails’ shoulder. The dark hedgehog soon falls asleep leaving behind the attic.  
\--------------

Sonic watches the two others in the room. He frowns at the new brother of the family.   
“Has he always had nightmares?”  
Sonic decides to cut to the quick of the matter. He watches as Tails gently shifts Shadow off of his shoulder to be resting on his sleeping bag covered legs. The fox then looks at Sonic.  
“Yeah. He was getting better, but I guess… I dunno… I shouldn’t have let him be alone.”  
“Hey, Tails. This isn’t your fault. You know that right?”  
“Yeah, I know. I’m just worried.”  
Sonic gets out of his bag, dragging it over to sit beside the fox. He drapes his arm around the pilot’s shoulder. Tails tilts his head towards his blue brother.   
“We can handle it. More brains present to figure out problems.”  
Sonic gives his small brother a big grin. Tails carefully returns it. Both settle into sleep with their backs against the wall. 

\---------------

This incident serves as a base for friendlier relations between Sonic and Shadow. The dark hedgehog still regards the others in the household with a cold standoffish manner. Tails worries as days pass with no improvement. Shadow just follows wherever the pilot leads, hanging in the corner of the lab more often than not. There had been nothing from Dr. Eggman or any further clues on chaos emeralds in the following few days. Both were additional worries for the fox. The only positive seemed to be that the attic paired with Sonic and Tails appeared to be holding Shadow’s night terrors at bay.   
Chris and Cream were both saddened by Shadow distance and had attempted more than once to engage the hedgehog. Nothing had worked so far. Tails is not sure how to resolve this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much interaction with others... Oops. Next Chapter Ill do more of that. Hope everyone has had a good holiday!


	10. Chapter 10

Shadow is standing at the window, looking into the back yard. He appears to be deep in thought.   
"Hey what's up bro?"  
Shadow glances at the pilot who has rolled out from beneath his plane. The hedgehog glances back out to the water.  
"Why are there bodies of water in the backyard?"  
"Oh! Those are pools for swimming in. Do you know how to swim?"  
The hedgehog shakes his head.  
"Would you like to learn?"  
Shadow ponders the question. He places a hand on the window.  
"Yes."  
"Alrighty, we'll just wait till Chris gets home. He knows how to swim. In the meantime, why don't you come and help me with the X Tornado?"  
Shadow walks over and Tails starts guiding him through the upgrade the fox is putting in.  
\------  
Chris bounces happily when Tails tells him that Shadow wanted to learn to swim. He knows the fox could have attempted this alone and is happy to have the opportunity to try to get closer to the black hedgehog. The trio stand at the edge of the pool, looking down at the shimmering waters.   
“So, let’s start off in the shallow part of the pool. I brought some floats to help, but we have to get in the water first.”  
Shadow stares quietly into the pool, not even acknowledging the statement. He steps forward, dipping a foot into the blue waters. He backs away with a closed-off face. Chris breathes deeply. Here is an opportunity to not only make friends but also prevent another hedgehog from having a life-threatening fear of water. He turns to Tails. The fox nods and slides down the ladder into the pool, holding tightly to his own float. Chris follows suit. Both look up to Shadow who now is standing with his arms crossed.  
“Would you feel better if I showed you how I plan to teach you with Tails?”  
Shadow glances between the two and twitches. He edges to the water and sits down letting the pool cover his legs. Then he nods slowly. Tails moves over to Chris, who is tall enough for his feet to be touching the bottom of the pool while he stands. Chris takes the floaty kickboard he had been holding and hands it to Tails. The fox releases his floatation device to grab hold. Chris instructs the fox on how to position himself on the board, speaking loudly enough for Shadow to hear. Then he tells Tails how to freestyle kick. They move the width of the pool and then change kick types. After going through breaststroke, butterfly, and treading water kicks, Chris has Tails adjust the kickboard to be under his belly. He then has the fox go through different arm strokes. They return to the edge when Shadow has been sitting and watching.  
“Are you ready to come in?”  
Tails asks. Shadow nods and slowly lowers himself into the pool. He flinches as the water covers more of his body. Chris quickly hands him the kickboard, onto which the hedgehog clings for dear life. Chris feels bad. He had yet to see Shadow express much beyond annoyance and stress and his first glimpse is that of fear. The boy quickly decides to do what he can to prevent that look from crossing Shadow’s face again.   
“Okay. Let’s focus on the freestyle kick.”  
Time goes by fast as the three move in the pool. It takes a while but Shadow masters freestyle, combining both the kicking and arm stroke. After that victory, they all put on floaties and start to play around in the water. Though both Tails and Chris could swim, they put on floaties so Shadow would not feel inhibited and left out by comparison. Chris quickly found that Shadow is vicious when it comes to splashing contests.   
Over the next few days, Chris continues to work in the pool with the hedgehog and the fox. Shadow soon grows confident enough to move freely about the pool. They start playing in the pool more often. Sometimes Amy and Cream join them, but the trio is typically alone. Sonic is never seen.  
—————-  
Sonic steps into the garage, raising an eyebrow at the sight of Tails hanging off the wing of the plane as Shadow fiddles with something right below him. Both look to the door.  
“Hey, I was planning on going for a run, and I was hoping you would join me for a race Shadow.”   
Shadow looks to Tails as Sonic leans against the door. In all honesty, Sonic is concerned about the sheer amount of time that the two are spending together. It could not be healthy to be so attached at the hip.  
Tails motions to the door. Shadow frowns and shakes his head. Tails rolls his eyes and looks meaningfully at Shadow. The dark hedgehog slowly turns to Sonic.  
“Can Tails come with us?”  
“I was hoping to spend some time getting to know you.”  
Shadow looks distinctly uncomfortable at the notion.   
“Go on Shadow. I’ll be fine here.”  
Shadow responds to Tails with bared teeth.  
“I’d rather not.”  
The fox sighs and Sonic feels like this is a well travel argument between the two.   
“Shadow, you’re going to have to leave me at some point. And you like running. Go on with him.”  
Sonic can see this is going nowhere fast.   
“No.”   
The dark hedgehog returns to work. Tails sighs, running a hand through his hair. He looks to Sonic and mouths an apology. Sonic waves it away and resolves to ask again every day till the answer changes.  
————-  
“Shadow…”  
“I said no Tails! I’m not going to leave you.”  
“I can see it in your face, you’re irritated by being cooped up in here. You should go with Sonic and run. You like running.”  
“No. I like running with you.”  
Tails quiets at this, fiddling with his gloves. Shadow keeps talking.  
“I don’t want to leave and then find out I had gone when you needed me the most. You are my brother and I don’t think I could live with myself if you were ever hurt when I could have prevented it.”  
Tails stands there quietly. Then he moves forward to wrap Shadow in a hug.  
“What if I could make something that could always reach me, and give you a way to instantly return home?”  
Tails watches the hedgehog pause and consider his words. Tails strives forwards with his plan.  
“What if I could design a fake chaos emerald for you to carry at all times that you could still use chaos control with? What if I created a two-way contact line that I guaranteed would always pick up if you or I called?”  
Shadow folds his arms, a slight look of disbelief passing through his features.   
“You think you can replicate a chaos emerald?”  
Tails flashes his brother a large grin.  
“Yeah. I had a prototype when I first found out about you. It is ready for testing now. The communication device might take some time to make compact, but that shouldn’t take very long.”  
“I would consider it.”  
Tails nods, counting this as a victory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! Welcome to the new year! Thank you for all of the kind comments and kudos!  
Feel free to ask any questions! Bye!


	11. Chapter 11

Within a few days, the same days in which Shadow is learning to swim, Tails finishes the earpiece and fake chaos emerald. The earpiece is small, looking much like a stud earring. Tails shows the set he had made to Shadow who carefully inspects them.  
“We need to set up a code phrase to call and hang up.”  
Shadow raises an eyebrow.  
“Why not our names and goodbye?”  
“I don’t want to accidentally overhear something about myself that you wanted to keep between you and someone else. And I don’t wanna say goodbye to someone in the room with me and hang up on you by accident.”  
“What would you suggest?”  
The fox shrugs almost hopelessly.  
“I’ve had days and I still don’t know. I know it should be a word not commonly used so there are no accidents and a single word for speed.”  
Both pause to think quietly about the issue.   
“Gesund followed by hyht.”  
Tails looks at Shadow with confusion.   
“What do either of those mean? And why those two words?”  
Shadow looks away to the window.  
“There was a lot of free time when we were on the ARK. Maria… She had a strong interest in everything she could get knowledge of. We had a couple of books detailing Old English and she talked about it a lot. I don’t… I don’t remember most of the words, but a few stuck.”  
The hedgehog’s voice is a whisper, close to broken. Tails touches his shoulder and Shadow puts his hand over the fox’s.  
“Gesund means safety and healthy and a few other things. Hyht means hope. I don’t think either will be accidentally said.”  
The fox nods and fiddles with one of the ear pieces. He then holds it up.  
“Gesund.”   
A pause. More fiddling.  
“Hyht.”  
He then attaches it to his right ear. Tails fiddles with the second earpiece and holds it out. Shadow says the first word and after a pause and a few adjustments, he says the second. Then Tails carefully clips the device to the dark hedgehog’s right ear. The fox hops into the air flying straight up and out of earshot but not out of visual range. He waits for Shadow to make first contact.   
“Tails? Can you hear me?”  
“Loud and clear. And you can hear me?”  
“Yes.”  
“Awesome! So, I’d also like to test the false chaos emerald. It’s in the box I brought outside with me. Try to chaos control to the roof.”  
“Okay.”  
“Alright. Goodbye. Hyht.”  
Tails flies downwards to the roof where he is met by the sudden flashy appearance of Shadow. The fox fist bumps the air with glee.  
“It worked! It really worked! Dr. Eggman’s never gonna see this coming!”  
Shadow grins back, slowly rotating the emerald in his hand.   
“The earpieces are waterproof, yes?”  
Tails nods in response to the question.  
“Yeah, and they can’t be knocked off with a hit or from moving to fast. I’ll need to build something to better hold the fake emerald, but I think my satchel should work fine for now. Are you ready to run with Sonic?”  
Shadow twitches slightly and then breathes deeply looking down at the emerald.  
“You swear to call if anything, even the slightest thing imaginable, is off or dangerous?”  
“Yes.”  
Shadow closes his eyes and nods, seeming to try and push away his constraining emotions. Tails draws him into a hug.  
“Let’s go find Sonic. I bet he’ll be excited.”  
\-------  
Shadow glances around uneasily, his shoulders taut. It had barely been ten minutes since he had started to run with Sonic, but he already wants to call Tails. Sonic pulls alongside him.  
”So, how ya doing buddy? Enjoying the house?”  
Shadow makes a noncommittal shrug.  
“I heard that you were learning to swim. Is that going well?”  
Shadow remains quiet, hand twitching towards the false chaos emerald that rests in the bag that is flapping against his side. Sonic seems to grow irritated with the silence. He darts in front of Shadow causing both of them to stop.  
“What's your problem man? You avoid interacting with anyone in the house and then the first time you take me up on my offer to go for a run you refuse to talk to me! I thought that we were cool. What did I do to you? Are you afraid to make more friends?”  
Shadow snarls.  
“Why would I want more friends? So I can disappoint them like you do?”  
The darker hedgehog spits out his words, eyes narrowed. Part of him is pulling on his anxiety to free his tongue and another is drawing from the thoughts which had been hounding him ever since coming to Tails’ home base. Sonic’s face shifts quickly into one of confusion.  
“What do you mean I disappoint them? That’s a pretty strong opinion.”  
Shadow snorts, disbelief taking over and common sense falling to the wayside.  
“It’s not an opinion. It’s the simple truth. Ever since Tails has returned you have done nothing but a return to your old habits. Don’t you realize how that makes him feel? To have you be so worried when he’s found and then simply fall back into old patterns of leaving every day with no way for him to contact you or for you to get back!”  
This seems to rev Sonic up, causing the blue hedgehog to move into Shadow’s personal space and start jabbing his finger into his chest.  
“Well, it’s better than what you do! Tails never gets a moment of peace with you around always at his back. Must be why you’re called Shadow, because it’s almost impossible to shake you off!”  
Shadow slaps away the accusing finger.  
“Better to be there constantly than to be away and out of reach when I am needed.”  
“Tails has never complained about my travels before.”  
“He doesn’t have to. Do you even pay attention to the person you claim as a brother’s moods? No, you don’t or you’d realize he gets anxious when he can’t find you and is so relieved when you return!”  
Sonic steps back as Shadow takes a step forward with his back straight, making full use of his height. Shadow continues his tirade.  
“Have you ever noticed how he frets at the computer late at night searching for the chaos emeralds? Do you ever consider why? He’s unhappy. He told me as much when we were traveling.”  
Sonic puffs up.  
“I think I would notice if Tails was unhappy.”  
Shadow snorts again.  
“Really? Did you happen to notice how extremely homesick he is? How anxious he gets as his searches come up empty? Did you know it was one of these homesick inspired searches of desperation that led him to me? No. You didn’t. You’re not around to spot the bags forming under his eyes or to wake up and see him sitting once again before the computer. You might like it here, but Tails wants to go home and you’re part of that home. He has accepted your travels; won’t breathe a word against you, but he’s worried you don’t really want to go home and are not actively searching for the emeralds to get home. He’s not wrong from what I have seen.”  
Both stare at each other with teeth bared. Then Sonic closes his eyes, with a sigh that evolves into a chuckle. Shadow watches on with confusion as the other hedgehog rubs the back of his head.  
“Your right. I guess I’ve been caught up in the newness. But…”  
Sonic turns to the view that is in front of them, a wide grassland with the blades waving in the wind. The sun is causing the sea of green to shimmer. Clouds slip across the sky, calm, white balls of fluff.   
“It’s hard not to get caught up in this. It is so similar but new. And I won’t have the opportunity to see it forever. I can never stay in one place for too long. I’ve never been able to.”  
Shadow clenches his fist.  
“Such beauty is worthless when seen alone.”  
“I think you undervalue being content with one’s own company. I’m sure Tails would appreciate it if you did.”  
The comment stings. Shadow feels the energy that had been flowing during his long speech building up as he takes a turn listening. Sonic seems to be working back up into anger or at least severe irritation.   
“Do you ever consider that he wants some alone time but doesn’t feel brave enough to tell you? Did you ever consider how eager everyone else is to become your friend and how much it hurts to be rebuffed? What’s your deal dude?”  
Shadow is not sure how to answer. He knows for himself why he hadn’t tried to attach himself to the others. He had not had to deal with more than one strong friendship before. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to open himself to the need and desire to defend that he had come to associate with friendship. Truthfully the prospect scared him. More time passes than he initially releases when he hears Sonic speaking worriedly.  
“Shadow? Buddy? Are you still there? Come on. I’m sorry. I said some nasty stuff. I’m just frustrated and it feels like Tails has replaced….”  
Shadow interrupts Sonic, returning from his reflection.   
“Whatever.”  
He turns and bolts, uncomfortable with being confronted with his own insecurities. He grabs the fake chaos emerald as he hears Sonic beginning to catch up and chaos controls himself somewhere else, anywhere else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! Thanks for reading! Special thank you to everyone who has left kudos and comments!  
I have two questions that I'm curious about the answer to. Don't feel pressured to answer them though!  
1\. How long can a fic be before it becomes too intimidating to click on? This story is a lot longer than I thought it was going to be and I'm thinking of separating it into a second part.  
2\. Are there any other tags I should add? I'm never sure what to put there and any help would be appreciated.   
That's all! See you next Thursday!!


	12. Chapter 12

Shadow opens his eyes, glancing around quickly. He was in a small town that he had stopped with Tails in. He stands on the edge of town breathing deeply. He’s not sure why he did not go straight home. Maybe he is embarrassed that he fled instead of fighting. Maybe he did not want to bother the fox with his presence further. Shadow feels something cold forming a stone in his stomach. He sees a dust cloud on the horizon and knows that it must be Sonic. He quickly moves into a large building. A sudden quiet makes him distinctly aware of the ambient noises that had been present outside. The room in front of him is empty with rows of chairs. Shadow moves and collapses into a seat. The pit in his stomach inspires warmth in his eyes and tears begin to slide down. He gasps and shudders, trying to halt them, but to his embarrassment, they keep flowing, heating his cheeks and falling onto his hands. He feels the stress that had been building, caused by staying at the house with so many people, start to fizzle out through his tears.   
A while passes, leaving him feeling hallow. He shifts and notices the coat that is draped over him for the first time. He glances at his side and sees an older man leaning back and staring at the wooden ceiling. The man’s gaze flickers from the ceiling to the hedgehog and then back upwards.  
“You seem to be having a rough time. Feeling guilty?”  
Shadow remains silent.  
“This place is as good as any to try and relieve some guilt. Has a way of drawing people in I suppose. So, what’s eating you son?”  
Shadow stares at his hands, embarrassed to have been caught in such a state. His defenses are down. At least that’s the excuse he uses as he finds himself whispering.  
“I caused my sister’s death and I’m so scared of my brother dying that I might be driving him away by being constantly at his side.”  
It is so hard to admit that Maria is more than simply gone. He knew she was dead. There had been a shot and blood. Shadow feels bitterness rising in his chest. The older man whistles sharply.  
“That’s a pretty pickle there son.”  
Shadow nods in agreement and rests his face into his palms.   
“Why are you so sure you’re to blame for your sister’s death?”  
“I was supposed to protect her, was built to do that, and then she saved me.”  
“Did you stab her?”  
Shadow makes a noise of confusion.  
“No.”  
“Did you shoot her? Poison her?”  
“No.”  
“Then you’re not to blame. So release it.”  
“But I could have…”  
“Coulda, woulda, shoulda. You're living in the past son. Stop disrespecting her memory by dragging her sacrifice through the dirt.”  
Shadow tilts his head downwards, tears still pooling out of his eyes.  
“You've gotta appreciate what you have now. Nothin lasts forever and there ain't nothing to be done about it most of the time. I've lived a long time and lost a lot of folks. And I miss them. That part never fades away. But you have to carry her here.”  
The man taps his chest where his heart is.  
“Youll drive everyone away if you leave your mind in the past. Something which seems to be starting right now from what you said.”  
“I’m scared to leave my brother alone for too long. Someone might come after him.”  
“So you don’t trust him.”  
Shadow freezes and looks up the man.   
“I do.”  
The man snorts.  
“You don’t seem to think he can defend himself. Doesn’t really sound like you trust him to make safe choices.”  
Shadow stares down at his hands, ears tilting backward.   
“How can I give him more trust? I’m...I’m really scared.”  
Shadow feels embarrassed. He hates to admit any weakness.  
“I don’t know what to say or do. Any time I can’t see him I feel worried.”  
“I think a good first step would be to let go of this guilt you feel over your sister. I don’t think you’ve quite accepted that she is gone.”  
“Of course I know she’s gone!”  
Shadow snaps back. The man leans back with a sigh.   
“Do you? I feel like you’ve allowed yore brother to take her place, thinking that if you just keep him safe, she’ll be fine.”  
“I…”  
The old man waves his hand.   
“You don’t need to try and explain yourself. However, you need to search for yourself. Accept what happened as not your fault, accept that she is dead, and accept and enjoy what you have now.”  
“How?”  
“Start with saying goodbye. Keep her in your heart but keep moving forward.”  
The man rises from the seat. Shadow grasps the man’s hand.  
“How do I say goodbye?”  
“Go to her grave or the last place you saw her. Maybe go alone or take someone else.”  
Shadow breathes and watches the man leave. Shadow rises slowly, wiping his eyes. He grabs the fake chaos emerald. He freezes as he hears Tails’ voice in his ear.

=----------------------------------------  
(A bit earlier)  
Tails glances up for the umpteenth time that day, stopping himself from making a remark to an absent Shadow. The fox huffs with a smile. He misses his brother, but he is really glad that he is out interacting with Sonic. Tails twists his screwdriver and steps back from his work table. He had finished a small device that let the user breath underwater comfortably for an hour or so. It might come in handy at some point. The little fox sighs snatching up the device. Might as well test it out. He gets ready and then dives into the pool, swimming to the bottom of the deep end. The device works. Tails closes his eyes losing himself in the feeling of water swirling around him.  
After a while, he feels the filters of his device beginning to strain. He gasps pressing the device to its absolute limit to rest in the silence just a little longer. Then he pushes himself upwards spitting out the device as he grasps the edge of the pool. Tails gasps in the fresh air. Shakily, he lifts himself out of the water, his ears assaulted by the sudden influx of noise. He coughs as he lays on the pavement.  
Why had he been down there for so long? Why press his device to its limits? Tails is unsure. It had been peaceful. A break from the stress of worrying over his brother. He lays with his eyes closed for a while, feeling his fur dry in the sunlight. He hears the pounding of feet on the cement and cracks his eyes open.  
“Hey, Sonic. Where’s Shadow?”  
Tails immediately notes the other’s absence and the worried look clearly filling Sonic’s face.   
“So we kinda got in a fight and he disappeared. I searched everywhere nearby and then here but I couldn’t find him.”  
Tails narrows his eyes and rises from the ground.  
“What. did. you. say.”  
Worry fills Tails’ voice flaring with a thick protective feeling. He had thought Shadow would be safe with Sonic. He thought it would be a good experience for them both. Obviously, he had been wrong.  
“We just had a disagreement. I’m sorry Tails.”  
“Don’t apologize to me.”   
The fox moves away and calls Shadow.  
“Gesund. Shadow are you okay?”  
“Yeah.”  
Tails can hear the strain in his voice like the hedgehog had been crying.   
“Come home, please. I’m really worried.”  
“There’s something I need to do.”  
Tails feels his heart twinge unhappily at the tone in Shadow’s voice.  
“Whatever it is, we can do it together. Please come back to me.”  
“Okay. Hyht.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof. This was hard to write. Its never pleasant losing people. But Shadow was being a bit obsessive over it so... Hope yall enjoyed! See yall next Thursday.


	13. Chapter 13

Shadow returns in a flash of light. Tails greets him with a large smile, worry shining in his eyes. Rushes to stand in front of his brother, taking note of the red ting to the taller’s eyes. Tails lets out a concerned noise. Shadow gives him a watery smile.  
“Would you come with me to say goodbye to Maria?”  
Tails breathes in with a bit of shock and then clasps his brother’s hands.  
“Whatever you need and I can give, you have.”  
Shadow nods and then chaos controls them away, leaving a stunned Sonic standing in the back yard alone. 

\-------------------------------

The ARK is cold and uninviting, echoing every breath the two make. Shadow stares at the spot he had last seen Maria, the memory splashing across his mind. He breathes deeply, taking comfort in Tails standing in the doorway as he had requested.  
“Hey, Maria… It’s me Shadow. I know this is weird, but I came… I came to say goodbye and thank you. You gave me a second chance. I won’t soon forget the joy we shared. I promise. But I know you wanted me to find further happiness. I better understand that now.”  
A tear slips from his eye as he feels the words tumbling out.  
“I know how much you loved that planet that we watched so often from above. It’s just as beautiful as you always dreamed. There’s… There’s someone I’d like you to meet Maria.”   
The hedgehog looks back to Tails, who moves to his side and silently takes his hand.  
“This Tails. My little brother. He’s helped me a lot. Continues to help me. You asked me to protect the world below as a final request. And he’s helped me realize just how much that world should be defended with all of its valuable and kind people. I’m sure you two would have gotten along well.”  
Shadow dips his head and wipes his face with his free hand. He then turns to Tails.  
“I’m sorry. I haven’t been fair to you. I should trust you more than I have in the past couple of days. I know you can hold your own and do not need me constantly in your space. I'm sorry.”  
Tails seems to blink back shock and then draws Shadow into a tight hug.   
"Hey. It's alright. I don't mind too much…"  
"But it's not right. I'm being overbearing and I know that it puts stress on you."  
"Maybe we can compromise rather than trying to completely ignore your feelings. We could train together so you know I can defend myself self and we can find you activities that you enjoy doing alone."  
Shadow breathes deeply, tightening his hold.   
"Okay. I'll even try to be a bit more amicable towards your friends."  
Tails laughs and leans backwards.  
"You don't need to push too hard too fast. I was trying to do that before. I'm sorry."  
The last part of his statement is somewhat self depreciating.  
"We both made mistakes. But let's not live in the past."  
Tails nods with a smile. Shadow grips the chaos emerald in his hand. Deciding to shift the mood, Shadow makes an inquiry.  
"Think you can make this smaller?"  
"I can try."  
Shadow smiles and then uses chaos control to take them both home. Shadow blinks at the surprised Sonic who is still in the backyard.   
“Tails! Shadow! I’m sorry.”  
Shadow releases Tails and holds a hand out for Sonic to shake.  
“I also said things I regret. Water under the bridge?”  
Sonic takes the hand with a beaming smile.  
“Water under the bridge. I hope you are willing to try and go for a run again at some point.”  
Shadow nods. Tails then speaks up.  
“I was wondering if you’d like to join us in some training to let off steam?”  
“Its been a while since we’ve practiced combos…”  
Sonic trails off and then matches Tails’ smile wit a bright one of his own.  
“Lets do this!”  
Shadow gives a small smirk. The three move away from the pool area to a more open section of the yard and begin to “fight”. 

\------  
The next day finds Tails and Shadow in the garage, with Tails trying to figure out how to make a smaller object that had the power of a chaos emerald and Shadow doing some reading in a book they had found in the house library that he had some interest in. Tails looks up as Cream enters the garage, wondering what had brought the bunny into his workspace. Shadow also looks over quietly.  
“Excuse me, Mister Shadow? Would you like to come and help me and Miss Ella make dinner?”  
The bunny shifts nervously on her toes, having spent all of her built up courage by asking the question. Shadow stands marking his place in the book. Tails notes a bit of discomfort in his brother’s stance.   
“Yes.”  
Cream smiles.  
“Do you mind if I come too? I’ll just wor on blueprints at the table and won’t get in the way.”  
Cream nods and then bounces out of the room. Shadow shoots the fox a grateful smile. Tails had meant what he promised. He is not going to push Shadow to separate from him any faster than the hedgehog could handle. This time he will be the quiet extra presence in the room.  
____--  
Shadow had never had the opportunity to really cook before and wonders if it was necessary for there to be such a mess. He wipes the pepper juice from his face with a half-grin to accompany Cream’s giggle. The hedgehog slices the rest of the red pepper as Ella finishes chopping the onions. She then starts mixing the ingredients in the frying pan. Ella smiles at the two who had helped prep the vegetables and the rice.  
“Now we can start on the buckeyes. You don’t have any allergies, Mister Shadow, right?”  
Shadow shakes his head to Cream’s question. He shoots a quick glance at Tails, who has not made a noise since they arrived in the kitchen. The fox is still sitting at the table, sketching out ideas on paper. He lets a small smile at the warm feeling that permeates the room. Cream takes back his attention, passing him the jar of peanut butter and a butter knife. He starts scooping the peanut butter into a metal measuring cup. Ella takes the full cup and dumps it into the mixer. Shadow takes a step back to watch the combining of the different materials. He breathes deeply.   
The next time that Cream asks for help in the kitchen he agrees and Tails quietly follows behind. It was nice to be wanted in such a friendly environment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos and reviews! Sorry this is late.   
Also, I have 2 more chapters for this story. I'm going to do a sequel, but I want to take a break from updating weekly cause schools getting busy. Again, If you like this idea and want to do something with it, feel free to do so!!


	14. Chapter 14

Tails stares out the window as he taps against the frame. His mind wanders in the early morning hours before the sun had even colored the sky. The fox leans against the glass, ears twitching at the rustle of the sleeping bags behind him. Shadow comes to stand beside him.  
“Oh. Did you have a nightmare?”  
Shadow drapes an arm over Tails’ shoulder.  
“I’m not sure you should be asking me that question little brother.”  
Tails sighs and leans against Shadow. He then answers the hedgehog’s unasked question. Whispering, the fox hopes to not wake Sonic who is asleep on the other side of the room.   
“I’m a bit worried because we have not heard anything from Dr. Eggman in a while. It is never a good sign for things to be this quiet.”  
The fox’s tails swish across the floor, nervous.   
“How about you tell me about him? I have heard this doctor’s name many times, but never much detail. Maybe it will help you get an idea of what he’s doing or at the least help calm you down.”  
Tails gives his brother a smile and both sit down on the bean bags present in the attic.   
“So Dr. Eggman is a really smart man. He builds all sorts of robots that are simply amazing. They have their own minds and make decisions. The artificial intelligence is impressive and beyond any mechanics, I could cook up. He’s been trying to take over the world for as long as I can remember, with Sonic fighting against him at every turn.”  
“Why?’  
The fox pauses. Then shrugs.   
“I've never asked… And he’s never really said. A desire for power I guess? Maybe it's the ability to control everything? He doesn’t really have anyone to pass it on to so it’s not for his progeny.”  
Shadow tilts his head thinking it over. Tails launches into one of his earliest stories about Sonic beating one of Dr. Eggman’s plots. Shadow listens quietly, not mentioning the occasional slipping of awe at Dr. Eggman’s inventions that appear throughout the tale. Tail’s slowly drifts away, leaving Shadow to wonder over the fox’s admiration for the scientist.   
\-------------------------

Shadow walks out onto the balcony hoping to find Sonic. The blue hedgehog had been spending more time around the house since their talk. This made finding the other hedgehog far easier than it had been.   
“Hey.”  
The blue hedgehog cracks open an eye, steadily watching Shadow from his position on the railing.   
“What’s up, bro?”  
Shadow flinches a little at the casual dropping of familial terminology.   
“Tails found a suspicious energy spike. He wanted me to check it out for him. Do you want to come with me.”  
Sonic bounces up with a smile.  
“Sure thing. Let's get going!”  
The two surge across the landscape to the east. Shadow tenses a little as the distance builds.  
“You know he's ok, right?”  
Shadow sighs and looks at the blue hedgehog who is right beside him.   
“I know. We’ve spared enough times for me to know. But I can't seem to let go.”  
Sonic nods.   
“Even if he does get attacked, he has all of his machines right there with him.”  
Shadow tries to calm himself with this comforting information. It only sort of works. Sonic attempts another tactic.   
“Take a really deep breath with all of your stress and fear.”  
Shadow follows this command.   
“Now let it out. Let the stress flow out with your breath and your movements.”   
Shadow breathes out slowly, pushing his stress into his running and his breath. He repeats the process a few times. He feels better.  
“I learned that trick a while back when I first started battling Dr. Eggman. Especially the robots that were larger than me. Now it's just routine and I can face then without a second thought but they used to make me more nervous. “  
Shadow nods. Soon after this, they arrive at the area that Tails had asked Shadow to investigate. Shadow pulls out a small device that is supposed to be able to pick up on chaos energy. A thorough search of the area does not yield any results. Sonic hums at this not looking too put out over the apparent waste of time.   
“Makes you wonder what Tails was actually picking up on his readings at home.”  
Shadow nods in agreement with Sonic’s statement. The two hedgehog’s tense as a loud rumbling shakes through the air. Shadow looks upwards to spot a large robot coming from out of the sky, creating the noise. Both hedgehogs dodge out of the way as the thing lands. Dr. Eggman or someone Shadow presumes is the doctor from Tails' description, floats above the mechanical monstrosity. Silently, Shadow begins to understand the awe that had been present in the fox’s late-night rambling about the machines of the doctor. He also absently notes how similar the man looks to Dr. Gerald Robotnic.  
“OOHOO HOO HOO HOO! You've fallen for my trap Sonic! By giving off a false signal for a chaos emerald I have made you bring one straight to me.”  
The two hedgehogs glance at each other and then Sonic snorts.  
“Yo! Egghead! I don't know if you've noticed but we don't have any chaos emeralds on us!”  
“You don't?”  
The scientist looks a little put out by this fact, rubbing his mustache.  
"Nope!"  
The blue hedgehog gives the man a large grin. The scientist's frown deepens and then his attention shifts.  
"And who is this? I thought I only had to worry about one meddlesome hedgehog."  
"What about Amy?"  
Sonic looks a hint offended on the behalf of the pink hedgehog.   
"Oh. You're right. Sorry. I don't see her as much you know. Anywho, back to the subject at hand. Who are you?"  
The doctor aims his question at Shadow who remains silent. Sonic responds for him.  
"This is Shadow. He's new so forgive his shyness."  
Shadow rolls his eyes at the remark.  
"Huh. Well, I guess since you don't have an emerald, I'm just going to have to attack you for the fun of it!"  
The large robot aims its arms at the two hedgehogs and fires off missiles from both limbs. The two speed out of the way and then rush towards the robot at full speed. Sonic spin dashes against its leg joints while Shadow launches himself off the behemoth into the air tossing chaos spears at its head. He lands and leaps back to the robot with a spin dash that mirrors the move Sonic is making at the same time. The machine crumples, not built to withstand damage from two hedgehogs acting like one.   
“Two of you have super speed?! That’s not fair!”  
Sonic waves up at the doctor.  
“Tough luck Egghead! Smell ya later!”   
The man flies off into the sky leaving a smirking Sonic and a silent Shadow.  
“So that was Dr. Eggman.”  
Shadow whispers thinking over the encounter. While the technology was exceptional, the man seemed to be lacking a solid strategy. But now he knew of Shadow and some of the hedgehog’s abilities. Which removes an element of surprise that they could have saved for a more serious battle. Shadow pushes away the thought. Not much could be done now. Sonic taps his shoulder and the two begin running home to inform Tails that the signal had been faked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Last chapter for this comes out next Thursday. The sequel will probably take a while, cause Id like to collect my thoughts a bit more. Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns!


	15. Chapter 15

Eggman rewatches his recording of the battle. Where had this new hedgehog come from and more importantly did he have a weakness? Weaknesses were exploitable, whether in battle or for manipulating others to do his work. Sonic was weak to water and friends, Amy was weak to Sonic, and Tails was weak to friends as well. Knuckles was always easy to convince of lies that put the doctor in a better position. Eggman stares blankly at the screen. It would be nice to have a power equal to Sonic’s in his arsenal for reasons beyond fights. He would need to keep an eye out for any holes in Shadow’s allegiances to exploit. Eggman sets up an algorithm to hunt through the internet and anything connected for references to Shadow and hedgehog.  
After a long break from this stream of thought to focus on other projects, Dr. Eggman returns to his algorithm’s results. A bit had come up, but not much. It almost appeared that Shadow had come into existence less than even a quarter of a year ago. Excepting for one file that was encrypted, locked behind a passcode, and corrupted from fifty years previous simply labeled project Shadow. Eggman tries to get that information but eventually has to give up out of a frustrating lack of results. He turns to the more recent data that is not locked up.  
Much of it's from posts on the internet and news articles. There had been multiple sightings of a dark hedgehog throughout the country accompanied by Tails the fox. This piques Dr. Eggman's interest. He clicks through an article that is labeled "Tails the Fox Injured at Local Baseball Diamond”. The photo present at the top of the article is not very good, taken from a distance and through a chainlink fence. There is a crowd of children around two figures, one of which is Shadow who is holding Tails. Dr. Eggman reads the report with some interest noting the fact that the reporter seemed to think that Shadow was very protective of Tails. Perhaps this is the weak point he could exploit.   
Eggman strokes his mustache in thought. Something to put on the backburner till there is more information, the scientist supposes silently to himself.  
\------------

Tails quietly accepts the wrench from Chuck, carefully using it to tighten a bolt. He glances over to Shadow who is quietly sitting outside in a chair, in front of the open garage door, with a book. It had been a bit of a challenge to go through the Thorndyke residence and find the hedgehog something he was interested in but the effort had been worth it. Shadow had been getting better at doing his own thing with himself. He still kept near to Tails most of the time but the fox found he did not mind very much.   
Chuck clears his thought.  
“What? Oh, sorry, Chuck. I got lost in my head again.”  
Something which is happening more often than it had before. The fox rubs his eyes and stifles a yawn.  
“How about you go take a nap or something? You look bone-tired.”  
“No, I'm fine. Honestly.”  
Chuck frowns at the fox, concern filling his eyes.  
“It's not very safe to be messing with machines like this if you are tired. Go take a nap. In fact, I think I need a nap too.”  
The older man pushes Tails away from the plane, ignoring all protests. The fox gives up with a sigh, resolving to work on something else. He snatches up some notes to review when Chuck is not looking and moves to go sit outside. Chuck closes the garage doors and moves inside the house. Tails plops himself down beside Shadow’s chair on the ground and starts reviewing the notes he had made about the false signal Dr. Eggman's had produced. The hedgehog does not look away from his book but does place his hand on top of the fox’s head. He gently ruffles the smaller’s hair. Tails starts reviewing his notes, quietly and slowly nodding off in the comforting warmth of the sun and feeling of safety. Shadow flips his page, silently listening to the soft snores of his companion.

\-------------

Sonic dodges another bolt of chaos energy with a laugh, rolling across the yard. He leaps up and rushes at Tails who leaps into the air to avoid being tackled. The fox then has to dive to the ground to avoid a bolt thrown in his direction. Shadow chaos controls away from a kick to the face leveled at him by Sonic.  
The three of them had been training in the back yard for a few hours. It had started with Tails setting out targets for Shadow to aim his chaos spears at. Then Sonic had come out to the yard interrupting them with a challenge to fight. The hedgehog was somewhat antsy from sticking around the house more often.  
Tails flies higher, making it hard for the two hedgehogs to attempt to reach him. Shadow dashes up the wall, making a flying leap towards Tails. He stretches his arms out to be caught rather than to attack. The fox picks up on his silent message and grasps his wrists. The smaller brother twists in the air, causing Shadow to pick up speed, before releasing him to fly at Sonic. The blue hedgehog is unable to doge. The two of them end up in a pile of limbs while Tails hovers above them giggling.  
Shadow and Sonic glance at each other and scramble up. Shadow cups his hands and then launches Sonic into the air when the other hedgehog steps into his hands. Sonic tackles Tails in the air causing both to crash back down, landing in the arms of Shadow who had moved to catch them both. The whole pile falls over with merry laughter erupting from the fox and blue hedgehog. Shadow hums and gives a small smile. Warmth swims through him, an equal measure content and happy. Shadow focuses on everything, wanting to cling to the moment like a precious jewel, to forever hold in his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thank you for reading this all the way through! I will put a sequel out at some point, but it will probably be a while as I got attacked by a plot bunny for a different fandom. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions and to look at any of my other written works! Thank you for all the support, kudos and reviews. Good luck everyone!


End file.
